


Not Just a Vamp Thing

by Sadmuse (Aleigh75)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Turned Into Vampire, F/M, HP: EWE, M/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-10
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-03 19:39:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4112602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aleigh75/pseuds/Sadmuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's quite a bit going on here... Harry doesn't manage to kill Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts. This picks up shortly after the battle ended. The Order is on the run. Someone has sneakily turned Hermione into a vampire. Cedric Diggory isn't exactly dead. It's all sort of AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own them, I'm just borrowing them for a while!!!

Hermione had never been more terrified, or exhilarated, in her life. She, Ginny and Luna had been battling Bellatrix LeStrange for over twenty minutes, but the older witch showed no signs of tiring.

A brief flash of motion from the corner of her eye drew Hermione's attention to her right, where she saw Ron creeping closer, wand raised. His forehead was bleeding profusely, and she faltered in her fight against Bellatrix. Then, her eyes met the red haired wizard's and he shook his head at her, gesturing urgently at Bellatrix.

Hermione turned back toward the witch just in time to see a flash of green light.

"Avada Kedavra!"

At first, she wasn't sure who the mad witch's curse had been intended for.

Everyone said the killing curse worked instantly. Painlessly.

Everyone was wrong. It took a moment for her to register the searing pain in her chest...to realize that she couldn't move. Her vision skewed suddenly and she found herself staring at the sky before she even noticed she was falling.

She heard Bellatrix laugh triumphantly and Ginny scream, "Hermione!" Her chest constricted painfully as she tried futilely to draw breath.

Another flash of green lit the night as Ron bellowed, "Avada Kedavra!"

Bellatrix's laughter cut off abruptly.

Hermione's vision began to fade as Luna knelt beside her, weeping in a way Hermione wouldn't have thought the normally serene blonde capable of. The other girl's tears dripped into Hermione's eyes when she leaned over and kissed her forehead.

Every nerve in her body was on fire, but she couldn't move, couldn't make a sound. She couldn't see anymore, but felt someone gently close her eyelids. The sounds around her faded out moments later.

The pain took a lot longer. It seemed like each cell in her body burned one by one before she finally lapsed into a blissful numbness.

***

To say she was surprised to wake up again after an immeasurable period of time would be a massive understatement. She'd been floating in a dark, silent void for so long that at first she didn't notice the change. Wherever she was, it was so dark that she wasn't sure her eyes were really open until she reached up and carefully touched her eyelids. When she realized she'd successfully moved her arms, she sat up with a gasp.

The movement seemed to be the catalyst for a new wave of pain. Her muscles seized up as vicious cramps wracked her entire body, making her cry out involuntarily.

Suddenly, gentle hands emerged from the darkness, rubbing her back. "Shhhh...it's alright. You're going to be alright. This will pass. You're not quite done yet," a deep male voice murmured soothingly. She couldn't quite place the voice, but was sure she'd heard it before.

"Who are you?" she wheezed, barely making a sound. Her chest felt strange. Heavy.

"You need to breath if you're going to speak," the voice chuckled slightly, but not in a mean way.

Hermione took a deep breath, then frowned when she realized it was the first she'd taken since she'd awoken. "What's wrong with me?" This time her voice came out so loud it almost hurt her ears, making her wince, even though she was pretty sure she hadn't spoken particularly loudly.

"It'll take some getting used to," her unseen companion murmured, patting her on the shoulder.

"What's happening?" Hermione asked quietly. "I feel so weird..."

There was a long pause, then the voice reluctantly said, "Well...um...I don't know how to tell you this. Do you remember fighting earlier?"

Hermione frowned. Her head felt fuzzy, like it was stuffed with cotton wool, but when he mentioned it, she did have a vague memory of Bellatrix...of the insane witch laughing. And Luna crying. The two memories seemed to be related. "Sort of? Maybe? Why, did I get knocked out or something?" Something told her not to ask, but her natural curiosity overruled her growing sense of dread.

"You could say that..." the boy (his voice was deep but still sounded kind of young) gently gripped her upper arms and it suddenly occurred to her that his vision seemed to be fine.

"Am I blind?" She interrupted whatever he was about to say, her voice cracking and far too loud in her panic.

"Shhhh. No. You're just not done yet," he answered cryptically. "Listen, 'Mione..."

"Why'd you call me that?" Hermione asked suspiciously. Something about his voice was setting off all kinds of warning bells, cotton wool be damned.

"That's what your friends call you, right?" he asked impatiently. "Listen, this is hard enough to say..."

Before he could actually say anything more, another wave of spasms ripped through her. Her stomach, in particular, cramped almost excruciatingly and she bit her lip to try to hold back a scream that would have surely hurt her ears.

"You don't wanna do that..." Her mystery companion abruptly shoved his fingers into the corners of her mouth, trying to pry her lip from between her teeth.

"Stop that!" Hermione yelped, swatting at his hand and pulling away from him. She didn't realize that they were sitting on an elevated surface, a table or desk, until she tumbled backwards over the side. Her back slammed into the unforgiving stone floor below, which should have knocked the wind out of her. As it was, the shock of the impact somehow made her muscle cramps relax and she just lay still for a moment relishing the lack of pain.

"Open your eyes. Can you see yet?" The voice came from above.

Hermione pried her right eye open slightly, then both flew wide open. The room was still fairly dim, but she could see the face peering down at her quite clearly. The very familiar face. "Cedric?!" She shrieked, then winced and rubbed her ears. Then she rubbed her eyes for good measure and looked again.

Sure enough, Cedric Diggory smiled down at her from his perch on the edge of a battered wooden table. He looked almost exactly like he had when she'd last seen him, three years ago. He was just as pale as he'd been when Harry brought his lifeless corpse back from the graveyard in Little Hangleton. The most obvious difference was that the cuts and bruises that had covered most of his exposed flesh that day were gone. He was also noticeably thinner, and was wearing rather shabby black trousers that seemed a bit too short for his long legs. His gray jumper had a tear on the sleeve. Frankly, he looked like he'd seen much better days.

"Your ears will adjust soon, I promise." He grinned ruefully, then dropped smoothly to one knee beside her, helping her sit up again. "Um...hi?" added sheepishly.

Hermione stared silently for what seemed like several more minutes before gathering the courage to reach out and touch his cheek. His skin felt soft and slightly warm. "I thought you were dead?" She wondered if maybe she really hadn't woken up yet. Or if she was going to at all.

"Um...about that..." he frowned anxiously. "I was. Am. Sorta..."

"What is going on?" Hermione demanded, beginning to panic. "Just spit it out already!"

"I'm a vampire!" He blurted, then sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose while she stared at him again, this time in horror.

"But you were killed with the killing curse. Harry saw it..." Hermione mumbled confusedly.

"Well, I think you were, too," Cedric muttered, then winced when she stiffened at his words. "I'm sorry. I'm not handling this very tactfully, I know. I wasn't really prepared for this. I've been alone for so long..."

"Am I...dead?" Hermione finally managed to whisper.

"Undead," Cedric nodded reluctantly. "I think you're almost done with the transition. Do you feel hungry yet?" He tilted his head slightly, peering at her mouth, and she realized he was checking for fangs.

Clamping her lips shut, she shook her head, fear and anger bubbling up inside her until she finally shouted, a bit breathlessly, "No! This has to be a dream or something. You're dead! You've been dead for almost three years! And I can't be a vampire...I've never been bitten by one. I've never even met one."

"I was never bitten either," he said. "Someone slipped me vampire blood before the last trial of the tournament. Probably before each of the trials." He shrugged uncertainly.

Hermione's eyes welled with tears. "Who did this? Who would do this?"

"I'm not sure," Cedric admitted. "Professor Dumbledore never did figure out who did it."

"Dumbledore knew about you? Why didn't he tell anyone?" Hermione whispered. She was finding it difficult to speak normally. There never seemed to be enough air in her lungs.

"Vampires aren't exactly popular, even in the wizarding world. We're considered even less trustworthy than werewolves," Cedric explained, frowning darkly.

"Why?" Hermione murmured. "You seem...pretty much the same to me." She'd never spent much time with him, other than at the Quidditch World Cup, but she'd watched him a lot after that. She knew he was almost invariably kind and friendly to everyone. Even to Harry, despite a lot of the student body treating Harry badly for having been chosen for the Tournament.

"Well...we're different from most vampires," he smiled wryly and sat down, cross-legged, in front of her.

"How?" Hermione shifted, sitting up straighter and leaning toward him attentively.

"You and I...we were wizards...well, a witch and wizard. Not many magic users become vampires. Most vampires that get turned used to be Muggles, and they don't retain as much of their former personality," Cedric wrinkled his nose. "I have a theory that when we learn to control our magic it sort of strengthens our will more than a Muggle's would be. We're able to hold on to, I don't know...our souls? Our morals. Whatever makes us...us. At any rate, other vampires don't seem to like former wizards much. I've never actually met one that would willingly turn a wizard."

"What do you mean?" Hermione whispered faintly. "Bugger...I can't talk!" She wheezed, scowling.

"You have to get used to breathing on purpose when you want to speak," Cedric explained with a sympathetic smile. "It's not an involuntarily function anymore. You're smart, you'll get used to it." He winked teasingly. "Vampires who want to turn someone target Muggles because they don't have the defenses wizards have. The killing curse won't work on us...anymore, but vampires can be petrified or stunned. It just doesn't work as long as it would on a human. So most wizards manage to escape a direct attack if they're at all handy with defensive spells. You and I...we were tricked...betrayed." He scowled slightly, leaning toward her. "It's not the bite that turns you, it's dying with vampire blood in your system. We both ingested vamp blood no more than four to six hours before we died. Most likely in something we drank. I know I had a bottle of pumpkin juice that I carried with me in the maze. There were several provided for us in the preparation area before we started." He let out a soft, animalistic growl and Hermione shivered. "Sorry, I don't know about you, but I'm still kind of pissed about the whole thing."

"I'm not thrilled," Hermione whispered, flashing him a brief grin, then inhaled and asked, "So, how else do we behave differently? Just being harder to turn and retaining our personality doesn't seem like a very good reason for other vampires not to like us once we've been turned."

"Okay, well..." Cedric bit his lip, looking down at the floor before continuing. "For one thing, we can control ourselves a lot more easily around humans, even though it's not always easy. I brought you down here because there aren't any humans down here. I took you as far as I could away from the battle because it's difficult to resist so much fresh blood, especially when you're newly turned. The difference is that we try. Most vampires don't bother. They just go for the kill."

Hermione frowned anxiously. "I don't want to kill anyone."

"And you don't have to," Cedric reassured her quickly. "We don't need to take that much blood. In fact, if you feed off a witch, wizard or another vampire, it only takes a few swallows a day, really. Muggle blood doesn't last as long, but we don't need to kill anyone."

"What about animal blood?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Ew. No. Why would you?" Cedric grimaced, staring at her like she was crazy. "Trust me, there are people out there willing to feed vampires. Especially ones like us. Some of them even do it for free." He smirked wickedly and Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why?" She asked suspiciously. She'd read about vampires, of course, but most of the information available seemed to be based mostly on speculation. As Cedric had already said, the majority of vampires seemed more prone to kill than to stand around and chat. There were rumors though, started by the rare survivor. Some said being bitten was actually rather pleasant. At least until the blood loss became too much for them.

"You'll see," Cedric grinned, running his tongue over his teeth and wiggling his eyebrows playfully. His eyes had darkened slightly and she caught him peeking briefly at her chest. "You'll probably have volunteers lining up once your fangs come in. That's when the transition is complete."

Normally, Hermione realized, she would have been embarrassed or even offended if a boy she hardly knew looked at her the way Cedric was now. However, she just found herself leaning even closer before, asking, "How long will that take?"

"Not much longer, I think. I found you almost six hours ago, and you were still warm. The change takes from four to eight hours, depending on how much blood you had in your system. Since you're already awake, it'll probably be soon." He reached out and stroked her upper arm without seeming to realize it. "Have the muscle cramps stopped?"

Hermione thought about it for a moment and smiled. "They seem to have. I didn't even notice."

"Good," Cedric grinned. "My plan to distract you with information worked. You always did have a reputation..."

"Know-it-all? Bookworm?" Hermione rolled her eyes self deprecatingly.

"Hmmmm...intelligent," Cedric chuckled. "Professor Dumbledore said you probably would have fit right into Ravenclaw..."

Hermione chuckled softly, took a breath and whispered theatrically, "The hat offered to put me in Ravenclaw, but I asked to be put in Gryffindor. I knew that was probably where Harry would end up."

Cedric growled again, so faintly she wouldn't have heard it without her enhanced senses. "You picked your house because of him?" He asked a bit irritably.

"Well, I'd met him on the train and he was one of the only people who didn't seem to care that I'm a Muggle born. Also, Gryffindor seemed like the last place Malfoy would end up. I'd already had a run in with him, too, the prat."

"He's my cousin, you know," Cedric chuckled, seeming to relax a bit. Hermione winced and he raised a hand in a calming gesture. "You're right...he is a total prat. His father is my mum's first cousin through his mum's side, not the Malfoy line. My grandfather wasn't quite as keen on blood purity and such as Great Aunt Regina. He let Mum marry a half-blood after all."

"Good to know," Hermione mumbled dryly, but smiled at him. "Anything else I should know?"

"Loads," Cedric chuckled, then froze and sniffed the air, his eyes turned completely black for a moment. Tilting his head slightly, he asked, "Do you smell that?"

Hermione sniffed and growled involuntarily, jumping slightly at the feral sound coming from her own chest. She couldn't really identify the smell, but it was wonderful. She could make out a fresh clean scent almost like hay or grass, but there was something else mixed with it, something musky and very appealing. Suddenly several sharp pains sliced through her gums. Probing tentatively with her tongue, she quickly confirmed that her fangs had come in...two on each side, both top and bottom, the foremost ones slightly smaller than those in back. Also... "I'm hungry," she mumbled around what felt like a huge mouthful of teeth.

Cedric blinked and leaned closer, sniffing again. "Merlin. It's you!"

"What?" Hermione asked impatiently.

"That smell...it's you..." He frowned confusedly. "You smell like the ocean and...jasmine?" He licked his own fangs, which dropped down as his eyes turned black again.

"Um...no? I smell grass and sandalwood or something. Not quite sandalwood..." Hermione frowned thoughtfully, sniffing the air again, then sniffing Cedric. "It's you."

Cedric smirked wickedly and Hermione suddenly saw the resemblance between him and Malfoy. At the moment, she didn't care much because he suddenly pulled her closer and nuzzled her ear. "Do you know what this means?" The air expelled with his words tickled her neck and she almost purred.

"No," she mumbled, staring intently at his neck, which was right in front of her mouth. She found herself shaking with the effort it took to resist biting him.

"Go ahead," he urged. "Do it. You need to eat. Then we'll talk."

Hermione hesitated for all of half a second before moaning quietly and plunging her fangs into his flesh. His blood flooded her mouth, the scent filling her nostrils and they both moaned loudly. He tasted even better than he smelled, the flavor indescribable, but perfect, and she sucked hard.

"Gods..." Cedric grunted and pulled her onto his lap so she straddled his legs. "Feels so good, luv. I need to..." he licked her neck and a jolt of pleasure shot straight to her groin.

"Yes," she hissed, pulling free just long enough to give her permission before biting down again.

"Fuck!" Cedric snarled, then returned the favor, biting the junction of her neck and shoulder.

When his fangs penetrated Hermione's skin, she growled loudly and wrapped her legs around his waist, rocking her hips against the large bulge she'd suddenly discovered in his trousers. "Cedric...please..." she whimpered, not entirely sure what she was asking for. She just knew they were too far apart, despite the fact that there was barely a centimeter between them.

"Yes." He surged forward, pushing her down on her back on the rough stone, which wasn't as uncomfortable as she'd expected. They both resumed suckling at each other's throats while they scrambled to unbutton, unzip and remove the layers of clothing between them.

There must have been something to the tales of vampire speed, because in no time at all, Hermione found herself completely naked and wrapped tightly around an equally naked Cedric as he thrust into her over and over. "Oh!" She pulled her fangs from his neck in surprise at the intense pleasure coursing through her body. No longer feeling hungry for his blood, she clung to him as he began kissing his way down her chest. "Oh my god..."

He raised his head, smiling dazedly at her. "You feel so good. Never felt anything like this before." His movements slowed slightly, but became deeper, more forceful and he watched her face carefully until he brushed against something inside her that made her cry out in ecstasy as her hips bucked involuntarily.

"Right there!" She growled. "Again!"

"Bossy," he muttered teasingly, snapping his fangs at her playfully but obeying nonetheless. "Good?" He grunted, snapping his hips against her again and again, hitting the same spot with each thrust.

Hermione's eyes rolled back in her head and she screamed breathlessly, having completely forgotten to breath since...she neither knew, or really cared. She dug her fingernails into his back and silently mouthed his name as the most intense orgasm she'd ever experienced crashed over her like a tidal wave.

As soon as she began to spasm around him, Cedric threw his head back and roared. Obviously he'd remembered to breath, because Hermione nearly had to cover her ears as he thrust into her erratically, spilling his own release deep inside her.

There was no sound when he finally collapsed on top of her. Neither of them needed to catch their breath, so there was no panting. Instead, they simultaneously licked the wounds they'd left on each other's necks, closing them before finally pulling back to meet each other's gaze.

Hermione opened her mouth to ask him what in the world was going on, but nothing came out.

"Breath, luv," Cedric chuckled, rubbing his nose against hers affectionately.

Hermione rolled her eyes and inhaled. "W-what was that?"

"That was absolutely fabulous sex," he said, grinning mischievously. "Maybe you've heard of it?"

"I know that," Hermione muttered, smacking him lightly on the shoulder and rolling her eyes. "I meant...why? As soon as my fangs came in, you were like...holy cow..." She didn't think vampires could blush, but if she could her face would be flaming from the memory of their intense, and totally unexpected, love making.

"I know," he chuckled sheepishly. "I didn't know that would happen, I swear. It's never happened with anyone else. Being bitten usually feels good, but not that good. I kind of thought it was a myth..." he trailed off, staring into space for a moment.

"You thought what was a myth?" Hermione finally nudged him impatiently.

"Um..." He bit his lip, obviously nervous. "Vampire mates. Like...soulmates, I guess. Maybe more like demon mates, I suppose. None of the DADA professors ever went over it. I never heard anything about it until after I was turned, and then it was from this Muggle vamp who was kind of stalking me for a while, trying to convince me that she was my..." he trailed off again. "Just...mine, y'know?"

Hermione felt a surge of intense rage from deep down at his words. "I'm yours!" she hissed before she even thought to speak. "You're mine!" The words burst forth automatically, and she immediately recognized that they were true.

"Yes," Cedric agreed immediately. "I'm yours. You're mine." He smiled reassuringly and lowered his head, kissing her lovingly. "I'm definitely yours."

Hermione sighed happily and slid her hands into his hair, kissing him back. She wondered briefly if her fangs would hurt him if she tried to deepen the kiss, but she'd no sooner had the thought when they retracted into her gums.

Apparently sensing this, Cedric parted his lips slightly and tapped his tongue lightly against her bottom lip, licking it playfully until she opened her mouth enough to allow him entrance.

They lazily explored each other's mouths, licking, nibbling and sucking gently on lips and tongues. After a while, Hermione realized a few things, almost simultaneously, and smiled against Cedric's lips.

First, Cedric was a very good kisser. Far better than Viktor or Ron. His kisses made her feel almost as good as the current slow, lazy rocking motions of his hips. Which brought her to her second realization...he had grown hard again, still inside her, and was rapidly bringing her back to a state of full arousal. Third, they were both purring. Loudly.

"Again?" She whispered teasingly, rocking her hips against his.

"Do you have a problem with that?" He asked, smirking as he thrust more deeply, making her moan.

"Not at all." Hermione smiled, pulling him back down for another long, tender kiss.

This time, she was pretty sure it was at least a few hours, multiple positions and several orgasms later when Cedric brought her over the edge one last time. He was sitting up, propped up on one hand while lightly rubbing her almost too sensitive clit with the other as she writhed uncontrollably on his lap. He felt absolutely wonderful inside her, and when he once again brushed against that amazing spot he'd discovered earlier, she came, hard. When she called out his name, he grunted and finally let himself go, grabbing her hip in an almost crushing grip and pulling her down against his pelvis as he thrusted upwards, gasping quietly.

Hermione slumped against him, completely exhausted, and he laid back, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. "Sleep, luv," he mumbled tiredly, nuzzling her neck before closing his eyes and letting out one last, soft purr.

Hermione barely had time to register the fact that, yes, vampires could actually sleep, before she experienced it herself first hand.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hermione, wake up!" 

Hermione moaned irritably as someone shook her shoulder. She tried to tell whoever it was to go away, but nothing came out. That's when the memory of the battle came flooding back to her and she sat up so quickly that her forehead slammed into Cedric's chest. He was kneeling beside her, fully clothed again. 

She looked down at her hands in embarrassment as she also remembered everything they had done together before falling asleep. She barely knew him! What if he thought she was some kind of slag? Or worse, had she, in fact, become one when she turned? She knew nothing about the sexual tendencies of vampires. She hadn't even been aware that Vampires had sex until she and Cedric ripped each other's clothes off and demonstrated. She was completely confused, and that was not an acceptable state, as far as she was concerned. 

"Hey. Get dressed. We need to leave," Cedric said briskly, rising smoothly to his feet and stepping back. 

Hermione frowned at his slightly distant demeanor, but reached for her clothes, which he'd piled neatly beside her. Remembering to inhale first, she asked, "What's wrong?" as she pulled her shirt over her head.

"I just went upstairs to check on the battle. It's over, but it didn't end well for us. We're not going to be safe here much longer." As he spoke, Cedric glanced nervously over his shoulder at the room's only entrance, a solid metal door with a tiny barred window. She could see torchlight flickering in the corridor and it seemed to be moving closer. "Hurry!" he hissed urgently. 

Hermione finished dressing as quickly as possible. With her new found speed, it took her all of two seconds, including putting her shoes on and tying her hair back in a sloppy ponytail. "Who's coming?" she whispered, slightly distracted as she looked around for her wand. 

"Death Eaters," he whispered, peeking out into the corridor. "What are you looking for?" He asked impatiently when he glanced back at her.

"My wand." She shot him the 'duh' look she normally reserved for Ron.

"Don't bother," he replied dismissively. "I left it upstairs. It wouldn't do you any good, anyway."

"What?" Hermione blurted, then slammed her hand over her mouth when there was a sudden thump from the hallway. 

"Shite!" Cedric muttered. "Look...you're gonna have to learn this fast. Think about fog."

"Huh?" Hermione stared at him, completely lost.

"Fog!" He whispered. "Specifically yourself turning into it. Like this..." He closed his eyes and immediately dissolved into a small, misty cloud. 

"Bloody hell!" Hermione exclaimed softly. The mist drifted closer to her, then moved up and down in a way that somehow conveyed impatience. "Okay, okay..." Closing her eyes, mainly because he had, she tried to concentrate on imaging herself as a similar mist. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be working. 

The door suddenly flew open and she jumped as two men in black robes stepped inside, one slightly behind the other. She braced herself, prepared to try to fight them off, but they looked right at her without reacting. "I could've sworn those voices were coming from in here," the one in front muttered confusedly. 

The other man moved further into the room and Hermione recognized Antonin Dolohov. It was all she could do not to growl as he squinted first at her and then at Cedric before saying, "Smoke. Looks like someone just blew out some torches. They can't have gotten far. Come on..." He grabbed the other man's arm and they quickly left the room, leaving the door open. 

Hermione looked down at herself in awe. She didn't feel any different, but she was now just a foggy mist. She tried waving her arms, and the mist rippled slightly. "Whoa..." she murmured. There was no sound. 

"Good job!" Cedric's whispered praise made her jump. He was standing near the wall, back in human...or rather vampire form. "Try turning back."

Hermione frowned...mentally at least, then closed her "eyes" (things went dark anyway) and thought about turning human...ish. When she opened her eyes and looked down again, she was back to normal...whatever that was now.

"Very good," Cedric whispered, grinning sheepishly. "You have no idea how long it took me to learn that."

"What now?" Hermione asked, a little embarrassed by his praise. 

"We need to leave Hogwarts. The place is crawling with Death Eaters," Cedric muttered. "I heard one them say they thought most of the Order of the Phoenix escaped back to their headquarters. I assume you know where that is?"

Hermione nodded. "I'm not sure it's safe there, though. They haven't actually been using it. Not for months. Yaxley might know where it is. And Snape definitely does."

"Snape is the one who found me and brought me to Dumbledore after I turned." Cedric frowned. "He let me hide at Spinner's End until You-Know-Who sent that git, Pettigrew there to keep an eye on him. He's on our side."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked dubiously. "He killed Dumbledore."

"Yeah, because Dumbledore asked him to!" Cedric exclaimed defensively. They heard the scrape of a boot on stone from the corridor and, glancing at each other, they both immediately turned back to mist. Cedric floated up toward the ceiling and hovered there, so Hermione tried it, but failed. Panicking, she went and crouched behind the table instead, just as Dolohov came back into the room. 

"I know there's someone in here," the Death Eater growled. He quickly cast 'homenum revelio,' but nothing happened. Grunting irritably, he finally left the room after peering around suspiciously for a moment or two.

Once his footsteps had faded into the distance, Cedric transformed long enough to whisper, "Follow me. Don't run into anything," then turned back to mist. He slipped into the hallway and Hermione followed. He lead her down a long unlit hallway (which was now as clear as day to her) and up several flights of stairs. She realized they'd been at least five floors below the potions classroom and Slytherin dormitory. She hadn't known the dungeons even went that far down.

When they reached the ground floor, she was horrified to see that the front doors and the wall surrounding them were leveled. Most of the Great Hall had collapsed. There was blood everywhere, and the only living souls were Death Eaters, giants, acromantula, werewolves and dementors. Maybe the term 'souls' wasn't completely accurate. At least the dementors didn't seem to affect her anymore. 

Every time they passed one of Voldemort's minions, they had to split up and slow to a crawl so as not to be noticed. Hermione couldn't figure out how to float close to the ceiling like Cedric could, and a few times she almost lost sight of him when she had to stop completely, her way blocked by larger groups of Death Eaters. 

Then, they came across a werewolf, a blond man who appeared to be able to smell them. Cedric was creeping across the ceiling close to the wall, while Hermione held back about five meters behind him. The man's head snapped back and he stared directly at Cedric before trying to jump up and touch him. Hermione dove into a nearby alcove and watched in horror as the blond pulled out a wand and brandished it at Cedric.

Remembering that he'd warned her that vampires could still be stunned, Hermione was afraid the werewolf might know that, too. She looked both ways to make sure there were no witnesses, picked up a large chunk of marble that had fallen nearby, then crept up behind the werewolf, who was too distracted by Cedric to notice. Cedric's "mist" dipped a little bit lower in a somewhat challenging way, and the werewolf paused for a split second, tilting his head to one side in confusion...just long enough for Hermione to bash him over the head with the marble. He dropped like a ton of bricks, the back of his head a bloody mess.

Cedric immediately re-materialized and dropped to the floor beside her. "Nice work, luv!" He exclaimed, smiling proudly at her. After checking the werewolf for a pulse, he dragged him into the alcove Hermione had just hidden in. "One thing though...don't ever let one of these guys bite you. The enzyme in their saliva that turns humans into werewolves can be fatal to vampires."

Hermione grimaced. "Sorry!"

"Don't be sorry. That was awesome. Because of their bite, it's almost impossible for one vampire to take out a werewolf without catching them by surprise. He suspected I was there, so I didn't know how I was going to get out of that without just making a run for it. We're faster than they are, but there are too many Death Eaters here. He would've raised an alarm." Cedric shook his head slightly and shuddered. "I've been on my own for so long...it's really nice to have someone to watch my back." He smiled gratefully, and Hermione felt a surge of affection for him. 

"It's nice to not have someone bitch about me watching their back," she admitted quietly. "The boys always wanted me to stay back, and not put myself in danger."

"Well, that's stupid." Cedric rolled his eyes. "I've seen you fight, luv. You were truly frightening with a wand."

"Didn't stop me from getting killed," Hermione muttered ruefully. "I let myself get distracted." A thought suddenly occurred to her and she let out a horrified gasp. "Merlin! Ron must blame himself for my death!"

"Well, if he distracted you, then he is partially to blame," Cedric snorted softly. 

Before Hermione could reply, they heard the clatter of someone approaching through what sounded like a thick layer of debris on the floor of the corridor around the corner ahead. "How do you float near the ceiling?" Hermione asked quickly, grabbing Cedric's arm before he could transform. 

"It's not really floating...we can't fly, but we can walk on any surface. It works kind of like the fog trick...it's based on visualization. Just picture yourself walking or standing on the ceiling, not floating under it. If you need more headway on a lower ceiling, crawl on it." he instructed her, then dissolved and drifted upward. 

"Ugh...why didn't I think of that?" Hermione muttered. Just before whoever it was rounded the corner, she managed to turn herself to fog and join Cedric on the ceiling. He bumped her playfully, and she gasped silently. He still felt solid, skin and all. No wonder he'd warned her not to run into anything...it was all just a glamour, really. 

They progressed much more quickly from that point on, and soon arrived at the entrance to the Headmaster's office. The door stood open, so they cautiously made their way up the spiral staircase, which was no longer moving. 

When they reached the office, it was vacant. Cedric transformed and rushed to the fireplace. "We need to Floo out of here. We can't apparate."

Hermione reversed the fog glamour and asked, "How much magic can we still do?"

"Almost none, really," he admitted regretfully. "We have a few natural abilities, but we can't perform any magic that requires a wand. But let's not talk about it here. Come on...we need to go somewhere safe..."

"Where?" Hermione asked. "I told you, Snape and Yaxley know about the Order's headquarters. I'm pretty sure the Burrow isn't safe anymore. What about your parents' house?"

"Lucius Malfoy can access their place. I haven't even told my parents that I'm...not-so-dead. I'm not sure it's safe," Cedric replied sadly. "What about your parents?"

Hermione sighed. "I sent my parents away. I knew they'd be targets once I disappeared with Harry and Ron, so I obliviated them and sent them away."

"Gods, that must've been hard for you," Cedric murmured, moving closer and hugging her.

"Probably no harder than you not telling yours you aren't really dead," Hermione pointed out quietly. 

Cedric nodded slightly, then kissed the top of her head. "We still need to get out of here. I bet You-Know-Who will be back sooner or later, and if not, the place is still crawling with Death Eaters."

"Okay. Well, I guess for now Grimmauld is our best bet. We can hide upstairs, and if Snape or Yaxley shows up, we can take 'em by surprise."

"I still think you should reconsider your opinion of Snape," Cedric muttered. "But lets talk about it there..." he glanced nervously at the doorway, and Hermione the sound of footsteps coming from the corridor below. 

"Okay!" Grabbing a handful of Floo powder, she whispered, "It's Twelve Grimmauld Place." 

Cedric nodded understandingly and motioned for her to go first. 

Hermione hesitated for a moment, then threw the powder into the fireplace, inhaled, and said, "Twelve Grimmauld Place!" as loudly as she dared before stepping into the green flames that flared up at her words. She was relieved to find herself in the empty parlor of the musty old house a few seconds later. She stepped away from the fireplace and waited.

Cedric stepped out of the flames a few seconds later and immediately took her in his arms, hugging her tightly. "We should hide. Other members of the Order might come here, if they're not here already," he murmured after just holding her for a few seconds.

"I think we should tell them we're here," Hermione said, resting her head against his chest, more than a little relieved that he was being so affectionate now that they were (hopefully) safe. "At least Harry and the Weasleys."

"Okay," he agreed. "But can we at least get away from the fireplace? I've learned it's best to have the benefit of surprise when dealing with wizards. Especially ones that know we're both meant to be dead."

Hermione nodded, stepped out of his embrace, took his hand and led him into the hallway. "I think we should hide in Regulus Black's old room. It's relatively clean, compared to some of the rooms, and no one from the Order normally uses it because it's all the way on the top floor."

"Whatever you think is best," Cedric whispered, staring disgustedly at the mounted house elf heads on the wall. "This is the Order's headquarters? It's vile!"

"Shhhhh...we don't want Mrs. Black's portrait to hear us!" Hermione hissed softly, holding a finger to her lips.

Cedric looked confused, but followed her in silence until she'd closed the door of Regulus' old bedroom behind them. It looked like Kreacher had dusted sometime in the last weekor so, so Hermione hoped he wouldn't come back for a while.

"This isn't bad," Cedric murmured, looking around. "A bit Slytherin for my taste."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed, sitting on the bed. "Not much red or yellow anywhere in this house, I'm afraid."

Lying down on the bed, Cedric moaned happily. "Oh gods. I don't care what color it is...this is nice. Do you have any idea how long it's been since I slept on a real bed?"

Hermione frowned. "Where have you been living? When did Snape kick you out? For that matter, how did you end up with him in the first place?"

"You might want to get comfortable," Cedric grinned and patted the mattress beside him. "It's a long story."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note...pretty much none of my vampire lore came from Rowling. I didn't like their appearance...too Nosferatu for me, and couldn't really find much about their abilities, so I made it up as I went along, borrowing from Dracula, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and a few other places.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione crawled to the head of the bed and curled up in the curve of Cedric's arm with her head on his shoulder. He purred contentedly and nuzzled her hair before taking a deep breath and beginning to speak. 

"When I woke up after I died, I was in the morgue at St. Mungo's," he mumbled, his jaw tensing slightly. 

Hermione blinked. "I didn't know there were morgues in the Wizarding world."

"Yeah, well, I can't imagine it's a highlight on the Muggleborn Introduction tour," he joked bitterly. "Wizards die too, you know, and when there's doubt as to what killed them, they don't go straight to the funeral home. They have to be examined first."

"But there WASN'T any doubt. Harry was right there. He told the Ministry what happened. He's still messed up about it, Cedric," Hermione informed him, unconsciously stroking his chest to try to sooth away the anger and frustration she could sense was building inside him.

"The Ministry tried to argue that Voldemort wasn't back. Even though Harry told them it was that bastard Pettigrew who actually killed me, there were still a few officials who tried to promote the idea that I'd just smashed my head on a rock or something when we landed back outside the maze. Like I don't know how to land on my feet." He rolled his eyes and snorted scornfully.

"So...you woke up at St. Mungo's..." Hermione prompted after a brief, awkward silence. 

"Yeah. I completely freaked out. I couldn't remember what had happened at first, and there was a woman on the table across from me who had blown half her head off somehow..." he shuddered, and Hermione instinctively reached over and hugged him. He didn't seem to notice; clearly lost in his memories, he went on, "I was still changing, like you were when I first found you. I guess it's fairly normal to wake up before the transformation is complete. At least there was a candle burning, so I could see. I managed to get dressed...they'd taken my clothes, and I couldn't find them...but I found a lost and found box in the employee locker room and managed to put together an outfit of sorts."

"Why didn't you ask anyone for help?" Hermione asked curiously. 

"I was pretty confused, but even with my head all fuzzy, I was aware that waking up in the morgue wearing a toe tag wasn't a good sign," he explained, smirking slightly. "Even in our world, there aren't many socially acceptable reasons for coming back from the dead."

"When did you realize you were a vampire?" Hermione asked. 

Cedric looked uncomfortable for a moment, deliberately looking away from her. Just when she thought he wasn't going to answer, he muttered, "I got hungry."

Hermione winced then scowled, thinking of what had happened when she'd fed from him. 

"It wasn't like you're thinking." He poked her in the side. "I almost wish it was."

"Almost?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. 

"Well, the first person I ran into after I finished changing, and my appetite kicked in, was this really filthy, smelly, old guy in Knockturn Alley, so I'm pretty damn happy that my first feeding didn't end like yours did." Cedric laughed bitterly. "I think he did, though. I was wandering around, trying to figure out how to get a wand so I could apparate home. I didn't even notice where I was going. I was still changing, so my stomach was kind of...urk, ya know?" He made a face like he was about to throw up, and Hermione nodded. "Then I bumped into this guy, and he started trying to get me to go somewhere with him." He grimaced, and Hermione frowned confusedly. "Um...he wanted me to..." he trailed off and shot her a look that was clearly supposed to mean something, but she couldn't be sure what. 

"What?" Hermione asked impatiently after a few seconds. He still didn't say anything. "What did he want you to do?" Knockturn Alley was a horrible place...there were too many possibilities.

Cedric stared at her amusedly for a moment, then sighed and kissed her on the forehead. "I guess I should just be happy for you that you're still so innocent after everything you've been through."

Hermione grunted irritably. "I'm not that innocent. Do you realize how many fucked up things go on in that place? He could have wanted you to help him grind dead kittens for potion ingredients. Or LIVE kittens. He could have been trying lure you away and murder you for your organs. He could've recognized that you were a vampire, and wanted to drain your blood or pull your fangs to sell on the black market....again for potion ingredients. Judging from your reluctance to tell me, though, I'm assuming it was something sexual?" She gestured impatiently for him to get on with it. 

Cedric stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Were you always this unflappable, or were you more affected by being turned than I thought?" he asked, still chuckling.

Hermione shrugged uncertainly, remembering her concerns about her uninhibited behavior earlier. "I, uh, was open minded before, but I think I'd normally be freaking out and over analyzing all of this..." she frowned thoughtfully, then plowed onward, "Shagging someone I've only talked to about two times...that's not like me at all, now that you mention it..."

"That was special," Cedric whispered, stroking her cheek. "Like I said, I've been a vampire for three years, and never had anything remotely like THAT happen. I mean, yeah, my inhibitions are a bit lower than they were before. I've done some stuff to survive that I don't think I ever would have done when I was alive," he mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. "But, I've never wanted anyone like I want you." He hesistated for a second, then said,"Honestly, I think it's because I was attracted to you when I was alive. I wanted to ask you to the Yule Ball, but you were so young then..." he trailed off, smiling shyly, which struck Hermione as a bit ironic given the things he'd already done with, and TO her. Then his words sank in.

"Wait...what?!" She gasped. "You liked me? Way back then?"

He smiled sheepishly. "When we met the day of the World Cup, I thought you were absolutely adorable, but I knew you were only going into your fourth year. I was turning seventeen that September, and I didn't think anyone would approve of a seventeen year old dating a fourteen year old." 

"Probably not, but I was almost fifteen when we went to the World Cup. My birthday is in September, too. I'm not much younger than Cho Chang," Hermione explained, shaking her head slightly. "I was kind of jealous of her you know."

"I'm an idiot." Cedric rolled his eyes. "I only asked her out because she kept following me everywhere after I was picked for the Tournament. And I really thought everyone, including you, would think I was a pervert if I asked out someone three years younger than I was."

"I might have thought that...if I had really been three years younger," Hermione agreed, nodding. They both sighed in unison, then Hermione said, "Anyway, there's nothing we can do about it now. So, what happened with the dirty fellow?"

"Ew, well, it was sorta weird because he said he'd give me money if I'd let him, uh, go down on me." Cedric made a face that was half disgusted and half confused. "It seemed kind of backwards. I've seen a lot of crazy shit, but no one else has asked for that!" If he could've blushed, Cedric probably would have been purple, judging by his expression. 

Hermione resisted the urge to tease him for calling HER innocent earlier, opting instead to prop herself up on one arm and gaze down at him. "Have you looked in a mirror? Ever? When you jumped down out of that tree on the way to the World Cup...you took my breath away. I'd heard of you, seen you around the castle, but I'd never seen you up close until then. You're bloody gorgeous." She wasn't sure where her sudden confidence was coming from. It certainly wasn't just Gryffindor bravery, or she'd have been able to tell him all of this three...almost four years earlier. 

"You need to borrow your pal Harry's glasses," he snorted, but pulled her down and kissed her softly for a few minutes. "Anyway...that old man..." he mumbled after they finally pulled apart. "I just stood there like an idiot for a second. I hate to admit I actually considered it for like half a second before I tried to walk away. He offered me a lot of money, but he smelled terrible and I wasn't that desperate yet." Hermione noticed the 'yet,' but bit her tongue. "He grabbed me, and tried to shove me into a doorway. I yelled for help, but no one pays attention to that kind of thing in Knockturn Alley." He paused for a moment, taking a breath. "Then, my fangs came in. We both screamed." He chuckled, flashing his fangs at her playfully. 

Hermione laughed at the mental image, but quickly grew serious. "So...what happened? Did you kill him?"

"No!" Cedric exclaimed defensively. "I've never killed anyone, believe it or not. He ran away while I was still trying to wrap my head around what was happening. When I finally got a grip again, and stopped screaming, this beautiful woman was standing in front of me, calm as could be."

"Another vampire?" Hermione guessed, biting back a jealous growl.

"Prostitute," Cedric mumbled awkwardly. "She realized what was happening to me. She told me she'd had a few customers who were vampires. And I guess I reminded her of her younger brother. She let me..." He stopped midsentence, laughing. "Put your fangs away! I only bit her!" he exclaimed, snickering. 

Hermione ran her tongue over her teeth and rolled her eyes. It took her a few tries, but she finally got her fangs to recede back into her gums. "Better?" she asked sarcastically. 

"Hermione, listen to me," Cedric sighed, "I've had to do a lot of things I'm not really happy about to get by. If you don't want to hear about it, just let me know."

"Maybe leave out the gory details," Hermione muttered. Changing the subject a bit, she asked, "Didn't you ever go see your parents?"

"I tried right after I met Juliana...the prostitute. She apparated me home, but Lucius was there. By then, I'd remembered how I died, and read the Ministry's version of what happened. I couldn't figure out why no one was looking for my body by then. It had been more than a day since I'd left the morgue." He shook his head slightly. "I heard Lucius tell my mum and dad that Harry had killed me!" He snorted. "He told them that You-Know-Who wasn't really back, and Harry was insane. Then, he told them that Harry had been known to mess around with Polyjuice potion, and that if they saw anyone who looked like me, they should stun him and turn him over to him."

"He expected you to go to them," Hermione gasped. "He knew you'd been turned?"

"I think he suspected, anyway." Cedric nodded. "I think the Ministry covered up my disappearance because they thought You-Know-Who was behind it. I think You-Know-Who might have been behind turning me. He sent Lucius to my parents to make sure I couldn't go home. He thought he could convince me to join him if he could keep me away from them long enough."

Hermione frowned. "What makes you think that?"

"I spent a lot of time in hiding after that, but I heard things. Other vampire were being approached by Death Eaters. Recruited. A surprising number of muggle vamps joined him. The few who didn't were killed." He grimaced. "They almost found me so many times those first few weeks. I was afraid to even try writing to Mum and Dad, so I just hid. I was afraid to be seen in public because of all the rumors going around. The few people I did dare to speak to about it were either convinced Harry was nuts, or that You-Know-Who was already running the Ministry. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't travel very far without magic, so I just hid in the...er...place I was staying. Julianna gave me a ring with glamour to change my appearance so none of the...uh...people who came into the place I was working would recognize me. It worked...until Snape found me."

"You just said that Death Eaters were trying to recruit vampires, but you didn't find it suspicious when a known Death Eater tracked you down?" Hermione asked skeptically. She decided to let his vague statements about where he'd been hiding pass for now. She had a feeling she really didn't want to know the details. At least not yet.

"I have so much to teach you, Hermione," he sighed. "We can't do magic like we used to, but we have other abilities that help make up for losing it. One of them is being able to tell if anyone is lying. Believe me when I say Snape is completely loyal to Dumbledore. I have no doubt about that."

"Fine...so, what happened with him?" Hermione asked tiredly. 

"Dumbledore knew about my body going missing. He'd attended my funeral, and somehow knew I wasn't really in the coffin..." Cedric began.

Hermione cut him off excitedly. "He cast some sort of spell on it before the ceremony started. I saw him, but I thought it was just some kind of preservation spell or something."

"You went to my funeral?" Cedric asked, looking surprised. 

"Cedric, I think most of Wizarding Britain went to your funeral," Hermione told him, smiling sadly. "Everyone who knew you was devastated that you had been killed. No matter how they thought you'd died, everyone agreed it was terrible that you had. Ginny and I both cried for days...the boys got tired of it after awhile. Well, Ron more so than Harry. I'm pretty sure Harry cried too; when no one was around. He blamed himself, you know."

"It wasn't his fault," Cedric protested, shaking his head. "He helped me get through the maze, and we agreed to share the victory. He had no way of knowing that the cup was a portkey. He was just trying to be a good sport about the whole thing. I've never blamed him for what happened."

"You should really tell him that someday," Hermione murmured. 

"I will," Cedric promised. "Anyway, Dumbledore knew that something fishy had happened. He'd asked Snape to keep an eye out, or an ear, for any word about my whereabouts; even if it was just the location of my body. He was more than a little worried Voldemort's followers might have taken it to use for some kind of dark magic."

"You talked to Dumbledore? About Snape?" Hermione asked. 

"Yes," Cedric replied matter-of-factly. "He told me he trusted Snape implicitly. Did you know that Snape only killed him because he was already dying from a curse on that damn ring he had found? They talked about it way before it happened, planned it all in advance. They knew it would help both Snape's and Draco's cover if You-Know-Who thought they'd eliminated Dumbledore for him."

"Wait...Draco?" Hermione asked confusedly. "Malfoy?!"

"He's been working with Snape for a little over a year now." Cedric nodded affirmatively. "I told you, he's my cousin. Unlike his arse of a father, Draco was royally pissed when You-Know-Who had me killed. He didn't dare to do anything about it at first, but he finally started spying for the Order after he accidentally poisoned Ron. He didn't want to kill Dumbledore, but he had to make it look like he was trying or Voldemort would have killed his parents. But not long after Ron almost died...when Harry almost killed HIM, Draco broke down and went to Snape, who brought him to Dumbledore. They didn't tell anyone in the Order because they didn't want to risk Harry's behavior toward Draco changing. It might ruin his cover."

"And you're sure it wasn't a trick?" Hermione asked incredulously. "Harry saw Draco hold Dumbledore at wand point on that tower..."

"There were Death Eaters nearby. Harry, too," Cedric shrugged. "They had to make it look good." Hermione frowned dubiously. "This is getting old, fast, Hermione," Cedric sighed heavily. "Dumbledore trusted Snape and Draco. I trust them. If you don't trust me, you can talk to them yourself. You'll see how the lying thing works..."

"How?" Hermione asked, scowling. "We don't even know where they are."

"I've been giving them both my blood for years. I can summon them, in a manner of speaking." He smirked faintly. "I just have to meditate and visualize them here, and they'll come as soon as they can. Most vampire magic is all about visualization..."

"You've been giving them your blood?" Hermione narrowed her eyes. "How do you know they're not the ones who had me turned?"

"I'd know if my blood had turned you," he said, rolling his eyes. "For one thing, I doubt you be giving me such a hard time about all of this this."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Cedric shrugged. "Vampires can exert a strong influence over those they've turned. From what I've seen it's a sort of incentive to make more vampires. There's safety in numbers, especially knowing that those you've turned won't ever turn on you."

"Nice," Hermione muttered sarcastically."

"That's just how it is. But a vampire doesn't have to use that control if they don't want to," Cedric frowned slightly, then added, "Most of them do, of course." 

"Have you ever turned anyone?" Hermione asked curiously. 

"No. I can barely take care of myself," Cedric snorted scornfully. "I wouldn't wish this kind of life on anyone."

"Then why give your blood to Snape and Malfoy?" Hermione asked. 

"To heal them," Cedric replied flatly. "Didn't you pay any attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts? Vampire blood has strong healing qualities. It can heal severe injuries, but if the injury is life threatening, the blood seems to just ease pain and help the person die more quickly...otherwise no one would ever be turned because the blood wouldn't let them die. I gave my blood to them because they get hurt a lot. Especially Draco. Being a Death Eater isn't exactly good for your health, and You-Know-Who likes to hurt Draco in order to punish and control his parents. It's kind of a miracle that he's still alive. It was a really close call after Snape was the one to kill Dumbledore instead of Draco. Snape told me afterwards that for a few hours he thought Draco was going to turn."

Hermione decided to drop the subject of Snape's and Malfoy's loyalty for now. "Okay, so you stayed with Snape for a while, then what?"

"Snape didn't find me for almost six months after my death. About six months after that, Lucius got sent to Azkaban, and two months later, You-Know-Who sent Pettigrew to Spinner's End. Snape thinks he was starting to suspect he was a spy, but I think he really just got sick of listening to the little bastard's whining. I had to go back to Knockturn Alley, but after Dumbledore's death, I visited Draco and Snape at Hogwarts a few times. Snape wanted me to stick close after you all showed up at Malfoy Manor back in March, so I've mostly been hiding in the dungeons at Hogwarts since then. We knew something was going to happen soon. When the fighting started, he told me to stay out of it, but to try to help anyone from the Order that I could."

Hermione raised an eyebrow questioningly. "And you're sure he's not behind turning me?"

"Not with my blood, and I don't think he has any other vampires up his sleeve. Most of them aren't very friendly to the living. Especially wizards...remember?"

Hermione thought about all of this for a moment. Dumbledore had always insisted Snape was on their side. Harry had once guiltily admitted to her that Malfoy had been sobbing in the bathroom before he'd nearly killed him the year before. He said Draco hadn't drawn his wand on Dumbledore the night he died until Harry heard the Death Eaters coming up the stairs; the two had just talked, too quietly for Harry to hear. And the blond HAD refused to confirm any of their identities at the Manor just a few months back. Harry's face had been a mess, but Draco had to have recognized her and Ron. "Fine. I still don't like either of them."

"Fine," Cedric mimicked her, but not unkindly. "The sun's coming up though, so we should try to rest. We only slept about half an hour after...you know." He wiggled his eyebrows playfully. 

"Is it true that sunlight will kill us?" Hermione asked, anxiously eying the drapes covering the room's only window. There were a few holes in the worn fabric.

"Eventually, but you'd have to stand in direct sunlight with your skin exposed for a long time. Hours," Cedric answered. "Even then, you'd get sick first...tired and weak, and you'd still have plenty of time to get inside before you died. Indirect light, like through those curtains, won't affect us," he whispered, kissing her on the cheek. "Don't worry, I wouldn't let you sleep here if it wasn't safe."

"Good to know," Hermione smiled and snuggled up against him. "I'm glad you're here."

"Ditto," Cedric wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "I don't want you to go through any of the shit I had to," he murmured. "I'm just glad I found you before they could take you away...either side."

Hermione shuddered at the thought of waking up in the morgue like he had, or even worse, surrounded by Death Eaters. "Me too." She pressed her face against his neck, finding his scent comforting, and quickly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm honestly not sure how wizards deal with dead bodies, but I needed Cedric to be traumatized by his awakening, so...there's a morgue under St. Mungo's. Just go with it. ;-) 
> 
> And this IS kind of AU, so Dumbledore's death didn't go exactly like it did in the book, but close. I picture Dumbledore giving Draco a quick little good-bye and pep talk before Snape and the Death Eaters arrived. So in this story, Harry couldn't actually hear what they were saying. Draco looked upset because he knew Dumbledore was about to die, not because he was conflicted about killing him. 
> 
> Oh, and on the Cedric & Draco being cousins thing...I've made them cousins in a few stories now, but it's not based on anything Rowling said about either family. I was inspired by the fact that they both had gray eyes, and I just like the idea of Lucius having at least one relative that wasn't a racist jerk.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, please don't hurt me...

Hermione woke up to find sunlight filtering strongly through the curtains. True to Cedric's word, the light didn't really affect her. It only bothered her eyes. Turning away from the glare, she stretched out languorously and realized she was alone in the bed. In fact, Cedric was nowhere to be seen. Squinting, she rose gracefully to her feet and moved toward the door to go look for him.

She was halfway across the room when she noticed her reflection in the large mirror over one of the room's three dressers. "Whoa!" Not only was she shocked that she even had a reflection, or that it showed up at all in the dirty glass, but her hair looked absolutely amazing. Instead of its usual uncontrollable mess of frizzy curls, it now flowed down her back in smooth waves. "I guess being a vampire isn't so bad," she chuckled softly.

Then her stomach growled, and she doubled over as fierce hunger pains ripped through her. "Ugh...maybe I spoke too soon," she groaned. Inhaling deeply through her nose, she caught a faint whiff of Cedric's scent. It was mingled with another aroma that was equally appealing, but in a more...food-like way. Licking her fangs, which had dropped without her noticing, she headed downstairs.

Both scents grew more intense as she neared the ground floor. By the time she reached the downstairs hallway, she was pretty much running on instinct. The new scent was enticing, almost as delicious as her mum's pot roast.

"I should go wake her up and feed her before she comes looking for me," she heard Cedric's voice coming from the front parlor.

"Too late," she drawled, stepping into the room a split second later. "You!" She spat when she saw who he had been speaking to.

Cedric was standing with his back to the door between her and the sofa, where Severus Snape sat, looking strangely at ease. Both men turned at the sound of her voice, Cedric quite a bit faster than the older man. Hermione sniffed delicately and her stomach growled. The delicious smell was coming from Snape and she recoiled in disgust.

Unfortunately, her body clearly didn't care about the unpleasant history between herself and the potential meal. her feet propelled her toward him almost entirely against her will. Her hunger must have shown on her face because Cedric grabbed her arms before she could move more than a centimeter or two closer to the wizard. "Hermione!" He scolded gently. "Easy now..."

"Let me go!" She hissed angrily, still trying to move past him.

"No," Cedric shook his head and began dragging her from the room while Snape looked on, a slightly anxious expression on his normally emotionless face. " You're not thinking clearly because you're hungry. It's harder because you're new. Excuse us for a moment, Severus?"

"Of course," the wizard replied, tugging nervously at the collar of his robes.

"But I'm hungry!" Hermione pouted at Cedric, staring at his neck after he'd dragged her out of sight of Snape.

"I know, luv," Cedric murmured soothingly. Pulling her into a nearby room, he kicked the door closed behind them and sat down on an overstuffed chair. "Sit. Eat." He patted his lap and tilted his head to one side, exposing his neck with a playful smirk.

Hermione didn't need a second invitation. Sighing happily, she settled on his lap, straddling his legs, and sank her fangs into his neck. He might not smell like food, but as his blood flooded her mouth, she couldn't imagine anything else ever tasting so good. It was sweet and creamy, but like nothing she had ever tasted before. Growling softly, she retracted her fangs and gently sucked on the wound she had made, lovingly running her fingers through his hair as she drank.

After her hunger dissipated a bit, her head cleared enough that she finally noticed that Cedric was hard as a rock, his arousal pressed against her groin. "I really sort of hate Snape right now," he whispered, rolling his hips suggestively. "I'd love to rip our clothes off again and make you scream." His voice came out as a deep, rumbling growl that sent shivers up her spine.

"What's stopping you?" Hermione giggled. "He can cast a silencing spell if he has a problem with it," she whispered back, rocking against him and making them both moan before she resumed suckling his neck.

"We shouldn't. If Snape's here Draco might be on his way too..." Cedric groaned, grabbing her hips and holding her still.

Hermione lapped the wound on his neck, closing it almost instantly, then sat up and pouted at him. "You realize you just gave me one more reason to hate both of them, right?"

"I promise I'll make it up to you later, luv," Cedric murmured, kissing her deeply before standing up. They both sighed heavily as he set her on her feet in front of him.

Hermione was just about to tell him that Snape and Malfoy could both wait a few minutes, or hours, to talk to him when they heard the distinct sound of the Floo activating from the other room. "That's probably Malfoy," she sighed irritably.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Harry's voice rang out angrily from the direction of the front parlor.

"Oh shit!" Hermione yelped. She'd forgotten about her vampiric speed, and found herself standing between her best friend and their most hated professor before she'd had a chance to think of what to say.

"Hermione?!" Harry froze, his wand hand lowering slightly as he stared at her, completely shocked. "Oh my god! 'Mione! What are you doing here? I thought...we all thought you were dead!" He let out a choked sound, halfway between a laugh and a sob, and launched himself at her. Snape was momentarily forgotten in his relief at seeing her.

Hermione embraced him tightly, more than a little relieved to find out he had survived the battle. "I'm okay. It's a long story," she murmured, rubbing his back unconsciously.

"Not that this isn't touching, but you might want to step away from your little friend, Potter," Snape murmured, his voice a bit strained.

Hermione hissed at him silently over Harry's shoulder, pleased when he drew back and somehow grew even paler than normal.

"Why should I?" Harry turned toward the other wizard, pushing Hermione slightly behind him and bringing his wand back up. "You never answered my question. What are you doing here?"

Snape sighed tiredly. "Believe it or not, but it's in everyone's best interest that you survive to kill the Dark Lord. Getting between two mated vampires isn't a good way to go about doing that."

"Two whated whats?" Harry asked confusedly. He looked over his shoulder at Hermione and went very pale.

She suddenly realized her fangs were extended again. Harry had the same almost-pot roast smell that Snape did, and obviously her stomach didn't give a damn if he was her best friend or a steak. Thank Merlin she was no longer hungry. "Harry-" she began, stepping toward him.

"'Mione?" Harry swallowed nervously and took a step back. Then he glanced at Snape and turned a little green. "Wait...ewwww..." His head whipped back toward Hermione. "You're m-mated to him?!"

He looked so disgusted that Hermione burst out laughing. "Merlin, no!" She chortled, clutching her stomach. "That's just gross, Harry. No..." looking over her shoulder toward the hallway, where she could sense Cedric standing just out of sight, she called, "I don't know why you're hiding. It's only Harry!"

Cedric stepped hesitantly into the doorway and Hermione heard Harry gasp loudly behind her, followed by a thump. "Er...that's why I was hanging back. Humans that knew me when I was alive have a tendency to do that sometimes when they first see me." He smirked slightly.

"Really?" Hermione asked. "I didn't."

"You're not human," Cedric reminded her gently. "The vampire part of you knew what was going on even if you weren't consciously aware of it yet."

Snape chuckled softly as he moved to check on Harry, who was sprawled on the floor, unconscious. "You should've seen Draco when he showed up at Spinner's End before I had a chance to warn him his cousin was alive. Well, not dead at any rate. He screamed like a girl before he hit the floor."

"I recall someone else here freaking out a little bit when we first ran into each other," Cedric murmured in an overly casual tone, fighting back a smile. "And you were aware that there was a chance I was wandering around somewhere."

Hermione blinked, then stared at Snape, who had bent lower over Harry, hiding his face. His ears were distinctly pink. "Come on, Potter. Wake up!" He shook the younger man a little too roughly and slapped his cheeks until Harry began to come to.

"Get off me, you git!" Harry muttered when he opened his eyes and saw the other wizard leaning over him. Snape immediately stepped back, returning to his spot on the sofa, where he sprawled gracefully and settled back with an expectant look as he glanced back and forth between Harry and Cedric. He was clearly expecting an interesting show.

"Hello, Harry," Cedric murmured awkwardly.

"Cedric?" Harry's voice cracked and he took a small step toward Cedric. Glancing briefly at Hermione and back at Cedric, his expression hardened so faintly that Hermione might not have caught it before she'd turned. She tensed, bracing herself for the outburst that was sure to come. "What's going on here?!"

"I think it's fairly obvious, Harry," Cedric murmured, trying to defuse the situation with humor as he flashed his fangs briefly.

"Did you turn Hermione?!" Harry yelled angrily.

Hermione was horrified to see tears in his eyes, and stepped between them. "Harry, no. We don't know who turned me. Or who turned Cedric for that matter. Someone slipped both of us vampire blood before we were killed. They've might have done it with other people, too, but no one else we know of has actually died afterwards."

"Whoever it is obviously doesn't like Weasleys, then," Harry snarled.

"What?" Hermione froze. She felt Cedric step up close behind her and place his hands on her waist in a silent show of support as Harry glared scathingly at them.

"Ron was so upset after you died...he went ballistic," Harry said stiffly. "He killed Bellatrix, but it was like a second too late to save you, and he was so shaken up. He was still almost catatonic a little bit later when we ran into Vol-"

"Don't say the name Potter!" Snape exclaimed. "It's still taboo!"

Harry scowled, but simply cleared his throat. Closing his eyes and lowering his head, he whispered, "He was an absolute mess. His guard was down. You-Know-Who killed him. Right. In. Front. Of. Me."

"What?" Hermione gasped and felt Cedric's grip tighten. "No!"

"The fighting sorta stopped for a while right after you died, you know. Vol- er...You-Know-Who seemed really upset about Bellatrix. Standing over her and screaming. I should've killed him right then and there, but I guess I was in shock about you. Fred and George carried you inside the castle, then the fighting started up again, and Ron..." he gulped loudly. "Ginny had barely held it together somehow until then, but she went completely over the edge when he killed Ron. She tried to cast the killing curse on him," Harry paused, shuddering. Even Snape looked like he was going to be sick.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered hesitantly when he didn't continue after several seconds.

"She missed," Harry mumbled. "He didn't." Clenching his fists, he muttered, "My best friend and my ex-girlfriend are both gone because they were so upset about you, and you're not even really dead! Neither of THEM are vampires, so what the hell is going on?!" He glared accusingly between Hermione and Cedric as tears streamed down his cheeks.

Hermione struggled to fight back tears. When she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, she was mildly disgusted to find red streaks on the light pink material and realized her tears were blood. Before she could say anything in response to Harry's question, Cedric growled softly and stepped between her and her friend.

"First, I'm sorry about your other friends, but Hermione DID die," he began quietly, but his voice was shaking with rage. "She'd be gone too, if someone hadn't...hadn't cursed her like this. She didn't have a choice, so don't you dare blame her for any of this!" His voice grew louder as he went on, and by the time he finished he was practically roaring.

"Why didn't you save them, too?" Harry sobbed suddenly after blinking at the enraged vampire for a moment or two.

"I couldn't," Cedric murmured, his anger deflating as quickly as it had risen. "I didn't even know they were killed until now. When I found Hermione, I'd snuck upstairs because I'd heard a lull in the fighting. It'd been almost two days since I'd fed, and I was hoping to find another vampire willing to let me feed, or maybe a wounded Death Eater." He grimaced slightly and began pacing. "I ended up feeding off a stunned Death Eater that had been dragged into an empty classroom room with a bunch of bodies by mistake. That's when I sensed another vampire." He smiled weakly at Hermione. "It was you, and I realized you'd just barely started changing." Shifting back to Harry, he said, "I didn't sense any other vampires. I just knew I had to get Hermione somewhere safe before the fighting started back up. I got her out of there, and stayed with her until she woke up. I didn't go back upstairs again until several hours later, and by then the battle was over. The place was crawling with Death Eaters, but there weren't any bodies anywhere. There were no wounded Death Eaters to feed from, either, so I went back for Hermione, and we got the hell out of there. Why are you looking at me like that?"

Harry was staring at him in horror, his face slightly green. "There were no bodies?"

"No," Cedric confirmed, shaking his head slightly.

"The Order was chased off by giants before they could retrieve any of the bodies," Harry whispered. "We got separated. I'm still not sure where everyone else went. I hid at the Burrow last night but no one else showed up there, and the wards seemed weak. I knew I couldn't stay there, so I thought I'd see if anyone had come here."

Cedric's eyes widened and he turned to Snape, who had been observing in relative silence thus far. "Severus?"

The wizard shifted uncomfortably. "I received a message from a reliable source that the Dark Lord did have several bodies removed to Malfoy Manor. I'm not sure if they were just Death Eaters or..." he swallowed nervously, "My source may be compromised, and I'm afraid I am no longer in You-Know-Who's good graces, so I won't be of much assistance in finding out if the young Weasleys were among them."

"Why is he even here?" Harry muttered, frowning at Hermione.

She shrugged uncertainly and pointed at Cedric, who sighed irritably. "For the hundredth time, he is a spy for the Order. He's been following Dumbledore's orders this whole time, up to and including killing him."

"Likely story," Harry snorted scornfully. "Next you'll tell me Malfoy is on our side, too."

"Well, now that you mention it-" Cedric began.

"Really?" Harry asked, looking a little unfocused for a moment. Then he shook himself and frowned. "Okay, becoming a vampire has clearly destroyed whatever good sense you might have had when you were alive. You're way too gullible, Diggory. Snape KILLED Dumbledore! He can't be trusted!" Grabbing Hermione's arm, he started for the fireplace. "Thanks for...whatever. I think it's best if Hermione just comes with me."

Cedric growled. "Get your hand off her!"

Harry ignored him, tugging hard on Hermione's arm. "Come on, Hermione. You can't trust these guys."

"Let go of me Harry!" Hermione protested, trying to twist her arm free. "I'm fine! I know all of this is a shock for you. I think you just need to get some rest..."

"No...he's clearly got you brainwashed or something..." Either Harry was remarkably strong, or vampire strength was vastly overrated, because Hermione couldn't shake him off. He even managed to drag her slightly closer to the fireplace. "Come on, Hermione."

"No! Let me go!" Hermione growled, trying her hardest to pull away. She could feel...something...rising up inside her, and it was enraged at her friend's audacity. Who was he to try to separate her from Cedric? "I'm not going with you, Harry!" She jerked as hard as she could against his hold on her, and he stumbled toward her.

"Get away from her!" Cedric bellowed when he still didn't release her. Even Hermione couldn't quite follow Cedric's movements after that. Harry's hand was suddenly ripped from her arm. Then, Cedric grabbed him by the front of his shirt and shoved him away from her. Harry flew backwards, slamming into the wall on the other side of the room hard enough to crack the plaster. "She said she doesn't want to go with you!" He snarled, crossing the room and standing threateningly over Harry, who had slumped to the floor in an awkward heap and wasn't moving. There was a Harry-shaped dent in the wall above him.

"Um, Cedric?" Hermione cautiously moved closer and put her hand on his shoulder. "I fully agree with you on the non-separation thing, but...is he okay?"

Harry's face was rapidly turning blue, and and when he breathed, she could hear a faint rattling in his chest that didn't sound at all normal or healthy. Cedric's rage seemed to deflate just as quickly as it had erupted. He slowly dropped to his knees beside the younger wizard, felt the side of his neck, and winced.

"It might be wise for one of you to give him some blood before he perishes..." Snape suggested quietly. He had left the sofa and was peering anxiously at Harry from Cedric's other side. "It will either heal him or turn him, but it will prevent his death either way. Quickly!"

Hermione glanced at Snape, then back at Harry, who was now barely breathing. She knelt beside her friend and pressed her ear to his chest. She could hear fluid gurgling on the right side of his chest, and his heart was beating very sluggishly. "Cedric?" She looked at him questioningly for a few seconds, but he had sat back on his heels and was just staring blankly at Harry. He looked like he was in shock.

"Miss Granger! Quickly!" Snape urged impatiently. "Either of you can do it, but you must hurry!"

Hermione swallowed nervously, then concentrated on bringing forth her fangs. As soon as they dropped, she bit into her wrist and pressed the bleeding wound to his mouth. There was no response whatsoever, and the blood just dripped on the floor. She glanced worriedly at Snape, who had now bravely pushed his way between Cedric and Harry.

"We need to lay him down. Flat on his back," he murmured, then helped her shift Harry into a better position.

Hermione could feel something grinding in her friend's chest, and couldn't help glaring reproachfully at Cedric, who was still staring at Harry, his face completely expressionless. Shaking her head slightly, Hermione leaned over Harry and held her wrist over his mouth while Snape held it open so her blood dripped inside. She noticed that Harry's right hand, the one he'd grabbed her with, was a bit misshapen, like a couple of his fingers were broken. She glanced at Cedric again, scowling, but said nothing.

After a few moments, Harry wheezed quietly. His body shook violently a few times, then went limp.

"Is he dead?" Hermione whispered tearfully, moving to pull her wrist away from his mouth.

"Give him a bit more," Snape murmured after checking Harry's pulse and nodding his head reluctantly. "We need to be sure he turns..."

Just then, Cedric let out a strangled moan. "No. No. No. No...Harry! I didn't mean to!" He turned to Hermione, and her stomach dropped at the agonized expression on his face. "You know I didn't mean to, right? I just wanted him to leave you alone. He was trying to take you away." He turned back toward Harry and let out another pained moan. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt him. I'm sorry." He choked back a sob and buried his face in his hands.

"We know you didn't mean to," Snape said, his voice remarkably kind. He patted Cedric awkwardly on the shoulder, and added, "He should have listened. You both told him to let go, and I told him it wasn't wise to come between the two of you. He always has been too stubborn for his own good." He glanced back at Harry and shook his head slightly. "You can stop, Miss Granger. That should be enough, assuming he can be turned."

Hermione pulled her arm away and licked her wrist without thinking about it. "So...what now?" she asked quietly.

"Now...we wait," Snape said, shrugging.

"I...I need to get some air," Cedric announced, his voice flat. He stood up and headed for the door.

"Cedric?" Hermione jumped up and moved to follow him. "You don't breath, remember? Where are you going?"

"I'll be back soon, luv," he said, raising a hand and gesturing for her to stop. "I just need to be alone for a few minutes. I'm not going far, I promise." He smiled weakly and stroked her cheek.

"O-okay," Hermione bit her lip and watched him turn and leave the room. A few seconds later, they heard the front door open and close. She stared after him for a few minutes, wondering if she should go after him.

"He'll be alright, Miss Granger. This whole thing is obviously regrettable," he glanced at Harry. "But Cedric isn't the type to run off and do anything stupid."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at this and gestured pointedly at Harry. "He isn't?" She was feeling extremely conflicted about her new mate's actions. On one hand, she had been furious with Harry for trying to separate them. On the other hand, she hadn't hurt him for it, even while she was struggling to get away from him.

Snape rolled his eyes. "You couldn't have really hurt Harry yet. You're not at your full strength yet. Or I should say that your vampire isn't. If it was, Cedric and I would probably be having this conversation about you."

Hermione didn't really have an argument for that, so she settled for hissing, "Don't read my mind. It's rude!"

Snape chuckled softly, and Hermione grunted and looked away.

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a while, until Hermione realized that Cedric had been gone for almost half an hour. She got up and walked to one of the windows facing the front of the house. Cedric was nowhere in sight, but a man standing at the bus stop a little way down on the other side of the street caught her attention. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, leaning against a lamppost, reading a newspaper. He looked like a Muggle, just waiting for the bus, but when someone walking by pulled out their cell phone and started talking, a brief flicker of confusion crossed his face. "Shit..."

"What?" Snape asked, standing up and coming to stand beside her. "Oh, wonderful...I recognize him. The Dark Lord is watching the house."

"But Cedric went out the front!" Hermione gasped. "What if they took him?"

"I'm sure he knows better than to have gotten caught," Snape murmured, but there was a hint of doubt in his tone.

"I'm going to look for him," Hermione announced.

Snape looked at her thoughtfully, then glanced back out the window. "Go," he muttered. "I doubt they caught him, but he doesn't know they're out there..."

Hermione hesitated, glancing at Harry. "But when Harry wakes up..."

"Just make sure you are back within three or four hours," Snape ordered. "There's nothing you can do here for now, but you do need to be here when he awakens. He'll need you. Remember how confused you were? He's going to be confused, too, and probably very angry. There's only so much I'll be able to do. He doesn't trust me."

Hermione grimaced. Her best friend was going to be a vampire too, and it was because of her. "I'll be back before he wakes up," she mumbled, standing smoothly and heading for the door.

"Try Knockturn Alley. There's an...establishment called Tulley's at number 302 where he's worked off and on in the past." Snape picked up a decorative blanket from the back of the sofa, tranfigured it into a thick, hooded cloak, and draped it over her shoulders. "For the sun," he explained when she shot him a questioning look. "Just stay in the shade and keep the hood raised...you should be fine. The wall behind the Leaky Cauldron will still open for you at your touch."

"Thank you," Hermione murmured, pulling the hood up, almost completely covering her face.

Snape looked away as she walked toward the door, but just as she reached it, he murmured, "Be careful, Miss Granger."

Hermione nodded silently, then ran to the front door and out into the sunlight. Her eyes watered for a moment, but then adjusted. She waited until the Death Eater at the bus stop was distracted by the arrival of the next bus, then left the protection of the disillusionment spell on the front steps and quickly hurried away in the opposite direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explanation...For one thing...I'm sick of books and movies where vamps act like they're going to break people with the slightest touch, but nothing really ever happens to anyone in most of those books/movies. (Yes, I'm thinking Twilight. That whole thing bugged me. "We can't have sex, I'll hurt you if we even kiss!" They have sex...nothing happens to her at all. (Nothing immediate anyway). That's one thing I kind of liked about Vampire Diaries in the first few seasons (before it got a little too silly for me)...people did get seriously hurt and killed by vampires, completely by accident. Cedric did NOT mean to hurt Harry. He didn't even completely lose his temper, he just sort of forgot his own strength because he'd never really been aggressive with a human before (because he's not that kind of guy). And in case it's not clear, ALL he did was shove Harry away to stop him from trying to take Hermione away against her will. Like Snape said, they gave him plenty of warnings. I confess, I just wanted Harry to be a vampire, too. I dunno why exactly...this story's about vampires, and not meant to be taken all that seriously. And he'll be fine. :-p
> 
> About vamps being able to go outside during the day...that idea came from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Spike running around in a blanket) and...I honestly don't remember where I got the idea of them just getting a little "sun-sick" before they actually die. But there's no sparkling, OR bursting into flames. They just get weaker and weaker until they collapse and die...and covering up can delay that for quite a while. Again, none of this is canon, so please don't whine at me that it isn't. If I tried to stick to canon on this one, we'd be watching two almost Nosferatu-looking creatures making out. No thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

Four and a half hours later, Hermione returned to Grimmauld Place, tired, dejected and extremely worried. The people at 302 Knockturn Alley hadn't seen or heard from Cedric in months. She'd learned pretty quickly what Cedric had meant when he said vampires could tell if someone was lying. The creepy guy at the door's heart rate had skyrocketed when he first tried to claim he had no idea who Cedric was and that they didn't allow vampires in the "club". 

After she'd flashed her fangs at him and informed him she was a friend of Cedric's, and knew for a fact that they *did* allow vampires, his demeanor had changed completely. So did his scent, rather disgustingly. He went from smelling like slightly spoiled hamburg to smelling like slightly spoiled and *aroused* hamburg. He eagerly informed her that he hadn't seen "Ced" in a few months. She barely hid her revulsion when he asked her to let Cedric know that he still had a job there any time, if he decided to return. He'd stared at her chest when he added that she was welcome back any time, as well. 

Hermione was convinced based on the noises and various scents coming from upstairs that the "club" was, in fact, a brothel. She'd suspected as much from Cedric's vague statements about his "job," but she was still slightly disappointed to find out that she had been right. He had some explaining to do about exactly what his job there entailed...if she could find him.

Not wanting to admit to herself that the Death Eater outside Grimmauld Place could have caught Cedric and delivered him to Voldemort as soon as he stepped outside, she'd wandered around both Knockturn and Diagon Alleys looking for him for a few hours after leaving the brothel. She was just thankful that the day was mostly overcast. Even sticking to the shade, the sun made her head hurt, but she'd kept the hood of Snape's cloak raised, and although she'd attracted a few suspicious looks from the living (it was a very warm day), she hadn't been too badly affected. 

Unfortunately, she hadn't caught so much as a whiff of Cedric's scent. She'd lost all track of time as she became more and more worried about her...whatever Cedric was to her. She was feeling more and more conflicted about the handsome brunet. The more time passed, and the more panicked she felt, the angrier she became. He'd *killed* Harry, for Merlin's sake. Not to mention the fact that, until recently, he had worked at a very seedy brothel in the worst part of Wizarding London. 

The infuriating thing was, she couldn't really stay mad at him. Her anger kept petering out, replaced by an almost frantic worry, until she managed to turn it to anger again. She couldn't deny that she'd also experienced a brief flash of pure rage at Harry when he had tried to take her away from Cedric. Despite the fact that she barely knew Cedric, something inside her...her inner vampire?...had been ready to rip her best friend's throat out for attempting such a thing. Cedric was physically a lot stronger than she was, and he didn't have the deep affection for Harry that she had to help him keep *his* anger in check, so could she really blame him for lashing out at the idiot?

She couldn't. And she had a feeling she should feel guilty about that, but she didn't. She did feel a little bit bad for not feeling bad, but she doubted that would carry much weight with Harry, or any of their friends. Glancing anxiously at her watch at the thought of facing Harry and his probable anger, she forced herself to increase her pace. She had been gone for nearly five hours now, far longer than she had intended. Muggles and secrecy be damned, she needed to get back before Harry ate Snape and added that to her list of things to feel guilty for not feeling bad about. She set off running at top speed, eliciting a few startled yelps as she raced by various Muggles.

As she rushed through the front door of Number Twelve, she heard feral snarling, and Snape immediately yelled, "It's about damn time! Come feed this thing before I'm forced to send him to a permanent grave!"

Hermione frowned and raced into the parlor, where she found Harry bound to the wall by magical ropes. Snape was pacing agitatedly back and forth. 

To make things even more perfect, Draco Malfoy was sitting stiffly on a chair directly across from Harry, staring at him intently with a strange, soft expression she'd never seen on his face before. As soon as she barged in, all three men turned toward her in unison.

"'Mione, please. I'm so hungry...it hurts," Harry immediately gained her utmost attention, gazing at her beseechingly. His eyes were black and he lisped slightly around his fangs, his voice barely audible. Hermione's heart melted instantly. 

"Breath before you speak, Harry," she suggested gently, then whipped her head around. "Leave!" She ordered Snape and Malfoy. "Now!"

Snape obediently grabbed Malfoy's arm and started for the door.

"Wait! Where's Cedric?" Malfoy protested, struggling to turn around. 

"Later, Draco," Snape murmured, dragging him forcibly out the door. Hermione waited until she heard the front door close behind them, then turned back toward Harry.

Snape must have removed the binding spell right before he disapparated, because the ropes vanished just as she heard a loud 'pop' from outside. Harry staggered slightly, bending over to clutch his stomach. "'Mione!" he moaned. 

"It's okay. I'm here, Harry," Hermione put her arm around him and led him to the sofa. Pushing him down, she plopped down beside him and held her wrist in front of his face. Somehow, it just didn't seem right to offer him her neck. "Go ahead," she said, smiling encouragingly when he just blinked at her.

"You don't smell as good as they did," he mumbled petulantly, glancing at the door. 

"I know, but you can't eat them until you calm down a bit. You might kill one of them, and for some reason my m-mate likes them," she explained, hesitating slightly at describing Cedric as such, but hoping that it would help Harry better understand the connection between them. Wiggling her hand slightly, she moved her wrist closer to his mouth. "Eat. It'll make you feel better."

Sighing irritably, like a small child who was offered crackers when he wanted ice cream, Harry took her wrist in his hand, turned it back and forth a few times, then bit into it deeply. 

Hermione gasped. It didn't feel at all like when Cedric bit her (which just made her want to wrap herself around him and hang on forever), but an intense wave of emotions suddenly rushed over her. She'd always felt protective of Harry, and she'd come to care for him very deeply over the last seven years. They'd half jokingly called each other family for most of those years. But now...now she knew she would literally shred anyone that tried to hurt him. 

She realized that this intense feeling (or rather his lack of it for her) was how Cedric knew his blood hadn't turned her. If he felt half this protective of her, there wouldn't have been enough of Harry left earlier for her to turn him. As she watched him gently lick her wrist to close the wound, she affectionately ruffled his hair with her free hand. Surprisingly, it settled in a fashionable, slightly spikey look, rather than its usual wild disarray. He looked like he'd just come from a stylist.

"You're purring," Harry chuckled as he released her arm, tilting his head slightly. 

"So are you," she pointed out, noticing the soft rumbling now that he'd drawn attention to it. "Put your fangs away," she ordered absently, curious to see if he would figure out how to on his own.

He immediately went still, a look of concentration crossing his face before they slid back into his gums. Grinning, he asked, "Better?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "A little." Biting her lip, she leaned against his shoulder and drew her legs under her. "How much do you remember?"

Harry glanced over at the wall Cedric had slammed him into. Hermione winced at the dent in the plaster. "Enough," he whispered quietly. "I guess I sort of asked for it though. I'm sorry. I didn't understand."

Hermione snorted. "Did you really just apologize for provoking my new vampire boyfriend to kill you in a fit of rage?"

Harry pretended to think it over, then snickered. "That's kind of fucked up, isn't it?"

"Kind of?" Hermione chuckled dryly. The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous the whole situation seemed, and soon she was laughing a bit hysterically. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to get Cedric back here, because I doubt you've learned everything we need to know about vampires since yesterday. After that, we're going to find out what You-Know-Who did with our friends' bodies, and then we're going to make him pay for *everything* he's done." Harry growled fiercely. The hatred in his eyes was truly frightening as they turned black again and his fangs re-emerged.

"Sounds like a plan," Hermione smiled weakly. "Fangs, Harry." Even if he was taking it well, she hated the glaring reminder of what he'd become because of her.

"We'll find him, 'Mione," Harry said firmly after he'd managed to retract his fangs again. "I promise."

"I think *I'm* supposed to be the one reassuring *you *about things," Hermione muttered, raising an eyebrow. "I turned you, not the other way around."

"Right. Cuz the Weasley kids never try to make Molly feel better, or go out of their way to take care of her." Harry smirked teasingly. Growing more serious, he asked, "Since you mention it, by any chance do you feel like some part of you just found its lost kid?"

Hermione smiled at him affectionately, and nodded. "Kinda, yeah." She refused, on principle, to ask if he felt like he'd found his mum. She'd never try to replace Lily Potter, even in this twisted parody of 'parenthood.'

"Do you think the vampire parts of us are really separate beings? Like demons or something?"

"I'm don't know. More like some kind of parasite, maybe? I don't feel all that different most of the time." Hermione shrugged. "But Cedric said we're different from most vampires. He said when Muggles get turned, they lose a lot of their personality...their morality. Witches and wizards don't. And we don't usually kill when we feed from the living like they do, if we can help it."

"You haven't bitten anyone but Cedric, yet, have you?" Harry asked softly, tilting his head to one side. "I wonder what they taste like...they smell..." he trailed off, looking longingly at the door.

"I tried to go for Snape this morning, but Cedric stopped me," she admitted, sighing sadly at the memory of their interrupted flirtation, and Cedric's promise to make it up to her later.

"You miss him," Harry said. It wasn't a question. 

"You know that part of you that probably feels like I'm your new, younger Molly Weasley?" She whispered, deciding that Molly was a more accurate comparison for their new relationship than Lily. 

"Yeah?"

"Well, mine just found its Bill, but lost its Arthur." Hermione quickly pressed her palms to her eyes in an unsuccessful attempt to keep her tears at bay. She ended up making the parlor look a bit like a crime scene, with bloody smears all over the sofa, and both of their clothes. 

"Being a vampire kind of sucks sometimes, doesn't it?" Harry muttered, surveying the damage when she finally stopped crying quite a while later.

"You can say that again. I'm hungry now, and there's no one around to eat," Hermione complained.

They looked at each other for a moment, then both burst out laughing, collapsing against each other. As she held her stomach and giggled hysterically, Hermione wondered if this was normal for vampires or if her human side had just gone completely, bat-shit crazy.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Hermione asked a couple of hours later as they stood side by side in front of the fireplace, Floo powder clenched in their right hands.

"I'm pretty sure it's a horrible idea," Harry replied sarcastically, "But I don't have a better one, do you?"

Hermione frowned thoughtfully. Her hunger had become almost overwhelming, and she'd finally resorted to feeding from Harry. She'd learned that his blood didn't taste anywhere near as good as Cedric's, and, much like Chinese food, it wasn't very satisfying. She was hungry again already.

Even more problematic, now Harry was hungry again too. She might be able to put up with being hungry for a while herself, but the thought of her...whatever the term was for what Harry was to her...going hungry was intolerable to the little voice in her head that was already driving her mad over Cedric's continued absence. So far her whole undeath really sucked beyond the telling of it. No pun intended. 

"Seriously...any ideas?" Harry asked hopefully, peeking at her sideways out of the corner of his eyes. He looked funny without his glasses, but he'd announced shortly after their mutual nervous breakdown that he could now see better without them. She was glad he had at least found one benefit to his untimely demise. That, and his hair continued to look perfect, no matter what he did to it. All in all, vampire Harry was kind of gorgeous, though she still only felt protective, motherish feelings for him.

"We can't bother the Weasleys with this. I don't think I could even look any of them in the eyes right now, let alone drop by and ask to borrow a pint of blood..." Hermione sighed, trying to focus on the problem at hand. " Not to mention, we don't even know where they are. They could be at Shell Cottage, or their Aunt Muriel's. Or they might've gone back to the Burrow by now. And we only have so much Floo powder..."

"I can't believe we can't apparate anymore. I haven't even been doing it a year yet," Harry grumbled. 

"I know," Hermione sighed. "Look...at least Snape probably knows quite a bit about vampires. And I think he's probably been feeding Cedric for the last month or so, so he's probably got blood replenishment potions on hand. Hopefully he can feed us both." 

"Do you think Draco will be there?" Harry asked, sounding a bit too hopeful for Hermione's liking.

"Why?" She asked sharply. 

"He's annoying, but he smells a hell of a lot better than the Bat," Harry shrugged. "I don't really fancy getting grease in my fangs..."

"Right," Hermione snickered. "Because hair gel's a vast improvement."

"I wasn't going to bite his hair," Harry muttered quietly. He also smirked in a way that was beyond disturbing. 

Hermione stared at him worriedly. "Whatever. Let's just get it over with." Throwing her Floo powder into the fire, she yelled, "Spinner's End!" and stepped into the flames.

She bumped into something solid as she exited the fire into a rundown sitting room that made Grimmauld look quite nice in comparison. She almost fell down, but her reflexes were a lot better than they used to be, and she not only kept herself upright, she managed to reach out and keep the thing she'd run into from falling over, too. 

Said "thing" turned out to be Malfoy, who yelped and pulled away so abruptly she had to grab him a second time to keep him from falling into a rack of fireplace tools. "How did you manage to give us so much trouble over the years? Have you always been this jumpy?" She smirked teasingly. Frankly, his newfound fear of her was one of the best parts of her new life. Unlife. Other than Cedric, of course.

To Malfoy's credit, he straightened up, smoothed his robes, and leaned closer, saying, "I haven't always had to worry about being on the menu, now have I?"

"You mean Grayback never tried to get a piece of you, Ferret?" Hermione asked in mock surprise. "But you're so pretty," she added half seriously.

"'Mione, be nice," Harry muttered, stepping out of the fireplace far more gracefully than anyone she had ever seen, making her inwardly curse Malfoy for spoiling her own potentially cool entrance. She noticed Malfoy do a double take, looking Harry over from head to toe, and settling on his hair.

"He started it," she shrugged. 

"You almost plowed me over, then made fun of me for being startled when a blood-sucking monster fell on me out of nowhere!" Malfoy protested irritably, tearing his gaze from Harry. 

When he put it that way...Hermione still didn't feel bad at all. "I can't believe you're related to Cedric," she muttered, looking him over contemptuously.

"And I can't believe it took you a whole day to run him off, you harpy!" Malfoy sneered, crossing his arms across his chest. 

"Okay, that's enough!" Harry stepped between them and held Hermione back as she lunged, snapping her fangs at the blond git. "Please, this is the only shirt I have left and I don't feel like cleaning up any more blood right now!"

Malfoy held up his hands in surrender and quickly backed away. "Fine by me!"

Harry looked meaningfully at Hermione, who sighed heavily. "Fine."

Harry smirked proudly. "Was that so hard?"

"How are YOU bossing HER around?" Malfoy asked, obviously incapable of keeping his mouth shut, ever.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked suspiciously. 

"The whole Sire thing?" Malfoy asked. Harry just raised an eyebrow. "She turned you, right? Godfather says when a vampire makes a Child, they have control over them."

"I don't think it works quite like that," Hermione shrugged, secretly hoping it didn't work at all. She'd hate to think she could take away Harry's free will to any extent. 

"Try it," Harry suggested quietly after looking thoughtful for a moment. "Tell me to do something you know I wouldn't do."

Hermione thought for a minute, then grinned wickedly. "Kiss Malfoy," she ordered, gesturing at the blond, who immediately froze.

"Don't I get a say in this?" He asked, wide-eyed. His cheeks had turned bright pink, and he licked his lips nervously. 

"No," Harry and Hermione replied in unison. "You're the one who brought it up," Hermione reminded him.

Malfoy tried to step back, but Harry easily caught him by the arm and pulled him closer. Hermione stared in horror as her best friend wrapped his arms around Malfoy's neck and leaned forward, kissing him lightly on the lips. 

Both men slowly drew back and opened their eyes. No one said anything for several seconds. Then Harry smirked slowly. "That's not going to work."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "What do you mean it won't work? It worked. You just kissed Malfoy!"

Harry chuckled huskily, "Yes...but it's not a valid test. I told you to tell me to do something I didn't want to do."

Malfoy let out a tiny gasp. He was looking at Harry with that weird, soft expression again and Hermione's stomach lurched. "Um, tell me you didn't want to kiss him!" She whined, flailing her arms. 

"I kind of did, though," Harry mumbled, tilting his head slightly and looking Malfoy over like he was a rare work of art. Or maybe one of Molly's home-cooked meals. 

Hermione prayed it was the latter. "Okay. I think you need to eat. You're clearly out of your mind with hunger..."

Malfoy suddenly burst into action, but rather than fleeing like Hermione expected, he grabbed the front of Harry's shirt and tugged him toward a partially open door, one of three leading from the small, dingy sitting room. He pushed it open, revealing a small bedroom, then quirked an eyebrow at Harry.

In response, Harry grinned...a positively wicked grin...and pushed the blond inside. The door slammed with a bang, followed by a few thumps and then a loud moan.

Hermione slapped herself on the forehead. "'Kiss Malfoy.' What was I thinking?!" She paced impatiently, then froze when she heard the unmistakable sound of bed springs squeaking repeatedly. Rhythmically. "Why does it have to be vampiric super hearing? Why couldn't it have been vampiric selective deafness?" She whimpered, covering her ears with her hands. It didn't help. "It's considered polite in some circles to cast silencing spells at times like this!" She hollered at the closed door. She heard Harry chuckle, and yelled, "I hate you, Harry!"

"What are you bellowing about, Miss Granger?" Snape asked, stepping out of the fireplace. 

Hermione removed a hand from one ear just long enough to jerk her thumb toward the bedroom door and begged, "Silencio! Please, for the love of whatever you hold dear! Silencio!"

Snape frowned confusedly. Then, they heard Harry groan loudly, accompanied by a loud moan from Malfoy. Snape glanced at Hermione, raising an eyebrow as the squeaking sounds picked up speed. "I believe 'Muffliato' is better suited for situations like this," he stated calmly, flicking his wand at the door. 

The sound cut off immediately, and Hermione sighed with relief. "I think 'Obliviate' might not be unjustified..." she murmured hopefully. 

Snape laughed; a robust, full-on belly laugh. It seemed just plain wrong coming from someone who looked even more like a "traditional" vampire than Hermione, Harry and Cedric combined. "I'm afraid it doesn't work on vampires, Miss Granger. Cedric asked me to try it the first time I took him from Tully's. Poor boy..." he trailed off, his normal sour expression slipping back into place as he sat in an armchair beneath the room's only window.

Hermione winced at the mention of the brothel. "What did he do there? And why were YOU there?" She asked hesitantly, sitting across from him on the threadbare sofa. The light of the setting sun coming through the window behind him hurt her eyes but she struggled not to show it.

"It's not what you're probably thinking." Snape smiled sympathetically. Her head was beginning to spin from the sudden expanded variety of his facial expressions. "I was investigating rumors of a young vampire that was working there, at Dumbledore's request." Tilting his head toward the door where her friend was currently doing exactly what she was afraid Cedric had done at the brothel, he said, "While being fed upon can be very arousing if the vampire wants it to be, it doesn't necessarily lead to sexual intercourse. Certainly not if the vampire isn't willing. It's surprisingly common for living humans...witches and wizards alike, to pay to have vampires feed from them solely for the pleasure they get just from the experience of being bitten. I believe it is what Muggles call an adrenaline rush."

"So people paid Cedric just to bite them?" Hermione asked incredulously. "Not for sex?"

"They paid Tully to provide the biting experience in a relatively safe environment." Snape shook his head slightly. "Cedric's only payment was the blood itself. That, and the security of not having to worry about losing his head or being set on fire, of course."

"That's just...weird," Hermione muttered, wrinkling her nose. 

"It's something you and Cedric both might have to consider at some point in the future. You can't just feed from each other. Blood passed back and forth loses its nutrients quickly if neither party is feeding 'outside the loop' so to speak."

"Oh." Hermione frowned, realizing now why feeding from Harry hadn't helped, and what a strain she'd probably put on Cedric. "I should have realized that. I'm going to have to figure something out, I suppose, in case Cedric doesn't come back." She bit her lip and sniffled, willing herself not to cry in front of Snape, no matter how eerily understanding and sympathetic he was acting. 

"Wait...you still haven't heard from him?" Snape asked sharply. 

"No," Hermione mumbled. "That's why Harry and I came here. We got hungry." Glancing at the bedroom door, she rolled her eyes and muttered, "Well, that's why *I* came here anyway. I'm not so sure now what Harry really wanted."

Snape laughed again. "You can't honestly say you're surprised by...them?" He asked, wiggling his fingers toward the bedroom door. 

"Quite surprised, actually," Hermione nodded vigorously. "They've always been so hostile, and so...not gay, I thought?"

Another creepy laugh rang out in the cramped little sitting room. "Are you certain about that? Albus and I made a bet four years ago, right after the incident with the hippogryph, as to how long it would take those two to admit, and act on, their feelings for each other. We knew it wouldn't be until Draco was out from under Lucius' thumb, of course. Alas, I believe Albus has won that bet." He tapped his lips thoughtfully, then gestured dismissively. "Oh well, it's not as if I can pay him now. He wanted an especially rare one hundred year old brandy. Considering all that's left is his portrait...it would probably wash him right out of his frame," he mumbled distractedly. 

"Is he?" Hermione asked when she regained the power of speech after this surprising revelation. She had trouble imagining Dumbledore placing bets on students' love lives, let alone Snape. "Draco...out from under Lucius' thumb I mean?"

Snape sighed heavily. "The Dark Lord murdered Lucius and Narcissa earlier today. Draco barely escaped. I'd say his father has no influence on him now, other than to perhaps spur him toward revenge."

Hermione frowned sadly. "Y-you don't think he's using Harry...to try to forget?"

"Of course he is," Snape murmured. "But he's been in love with Potter almost as long as he's known him, and I believe it's the same for Potter. They've both just lost people that were very close to them. They need each other right now. Let them be."

Hermione's eyes welled with tears, a few spilling over to trickle down her cheeks, but she no longer cared if Snape saw her cry. His cheeks were suspiciously damp, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the brothel bit was sort of inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but Cedric isn't getting off on it, he just needed to eat.
> 
> And this is as close to explicit as the Draco/Harry relationship is going to get. I love the idea of those two as a couple, but I just cannot write a good sex scene between them. I tried, and it was terrible. lol Sorry.


	7. Chapter 7

"'Mione, wake up," Harry's voice brought Hermione out of a half-dozing state a short time later. Her afternoon spent in the sun while frantically searching for Cedric had finally caught up with her. Snape had insisted that she try to rest on his bed while Harry and Draco were "occupied" in his guest room.

Now, Harry was leaning over her, looking quite a bit happier than she had seen him since before the Goblet of Fire had spit out his name fourth year. Before Death had touched his life again...back when he'd still believed he could have a normal, happy life with Sirius...once he cleared his name, anyway.

Hermione sighed softly and sat up. "Are you in love with Malfoy?" He nodded solemnly, and sat on the edge of the bed beside her. "How long? And why didn't you say anything?"

"I realized it last year. You were right about me being obsessed with him," he admitted sheepishly. "And I didn't say anything because you and Ron hate him, and I wasn't sure if he was completely evil or just doing what his father told him to do. I couldn't help how I felt, but I didn't think I'd ever act on it."

"He's not evil," Hermione muttered reluctantly. 

"Duh," Harry chuckled. "Do you think I'd let him-"

"No details!" Hermione yelped, covering her ears. "I don't wanna know. I'm still wrapping my head around the concept of him and Snape being human."

Harry laughed. "Is that harder to accept than you and I being vampires?"

"It is when you're suddenly fucking one of them," Hermione smirked, but winked at him to let him know she'd probably be okay with the idea eventually. "I guess he *is* pretty cute when he's not running his mouth," she conceded for good measure. 

"Mmmm," Harry's eyes glazed over slightly. "His mouth's not so bad, actually..."

"I don't wanna know!" Hermione laughed, flailing her arms. 

"And those eyes," Harry murmured, ignoring her. 

"Gotta agree with you there," Hermione muttered, thinking about how similar Malfoy's eyes were to Cedric's. They clearly ran on the shared side of Malfoy's family. She would still prefer to look at them in Cedric's face than the ferret's, though. 

Harry looked at her strangely for a moment, then obviously made the connection. "You're gonna find him," he murmured, patting her knee. 

Hermione smiled weakly and snuggled up against him, wrapping her arms around him and drawing comfort from his presence. Harry sighed and rested his head against the top of hers.

"Hey, hands off, Granger," Malfoy joked, walking into the room. 

Hermione's eyes widened as his scent hit her nostrils and she realized she still hadn't eaten. She spotted the marks from Harry's bite on his neck just above his collar and bit her lip hard. A low growl rumbled through her chest, and Harry stiffened beside her. 

"Dray, I think you should run," he warned softly as he grabbed her elbow. 

"No," Hermione ground out. "I just need..."

"You still haven't eaten?" Malfoy asked incredulously. Turning to Harry, he said, "I thought that's why you came here?"

"It was," Harry shrugged. "'Mi, you can feed from me..." he held his wrist in front of her mouth.

"Then you'll just be hungry again, and we'll be back where we started," Hermione protested, batting his arm away.

"Um, me then?" Malfoy asked hesitantly. 

"No, you just fed Harry," Hermione shook her head. "Thanks though."

"That's what blood replenishment potions are for..." Malfoy murmured, stepping closer. 

"I'm pretty sure it's not," Hermione muttered, even though she'd brought them up herself earlier. 

Malfoy sighed heavily. "Godfather then?"

"He fed Cedric earlier," Hermione shook her head. Her stomach twisted at the thought of Cedric, and she whimpered involuntarily. She realized she just didn't feel right eating until she knew he was safe.

"'Mione, you can't refuse to feed from anyone," Harry complained. Shoving his arm in front of her again, he growled, "Eat, or we'll make you eat."

"I'm fine," Hermione shook her head. 

"Ced would want you to eat," Malfoy said softly. "You know he would."

Hermione shrugged. 

"He's out there somewhere beating himself up for hurting Harry. If you go on a hunger strike, he'll just have another thing to feel bad about when he comes back!" Malfoy yelled frustratedly.

"Alright, that's enough!" Harry growled. Bringing his wrist to his mouth, he bit into it, then shoved the resulting wound against Hermione's lips. "Eat. Now."

Rolling her eyes, Hermione took a few reluctant swallows, then licked the wound shut. "Prat."

"Don't sulk," Harry said smugly, "I didn't do it just for you. Now I have an excuse to eat again sooner," he whispered theatrically, winking at Malfoy. 

"I don't need to know that," Hermione chuckled despite herself. 

Suddenly there was a loud crack from the sitting room, and they all ran to investigate. Hermione nearly bowled Malfoy over when she tried to overtake him in the doorway, but she managed to stop in time. He reached the living room first, looking quite smug until he saw the source of the sound.

"Tibby!" He exclaimed suddenly, rushing toward a small shapeless pile of purple fabric in front of the fireplace. As he picked it up and cradled it against his chest, Hermione recognized it as an unconscious house elf. "Oh gods, Tibby!"

Snape stepped into the room at the sound of the commotion. He was holding a plate with a rather sloppily constructed sandwich in his left hand, but dropped it when he saw the elf in his godson's arms. Moving to his side, he gently touched the little creature's neck, then let out a sigh of relief. "I believe she's just fainted. Again," he said reassuringly, patting Malfoy's shoulder before pulling out his wand and vanishing the sandwich that was now scattered across the carpet. Shaking his head slightly, he walked back into the kitchen. 

"Tibby?" Hermione asked gently when Malfoy seemed disinclined to talk after almost a full minute had passed.

"She was my nanny," Malfoy mumbled distractedly. He carefully laid the elf down on the sofa and began to examine her, beginning with her exposed arms and legs. "She practically raised me. She was the only person I had to play with when I was young. Father always insisted that it was 'unseemly' for Mum to spend too much time with me. That's what servants are for, you know..." he snorted scornfully. Harry walked over and put his hand on his shoulder, and Malfoy leaned into the touch. "She helped me get away when he attacked us. I thought he'd killed her," he whispered, sniffling loudly. 

"I'm so sorry, D-draco," Hermione murmured, stumbling over his given name. She glanced at Harry, who shot her a sad, grateful smile. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Help me kill the bastard," Malfoy growled quite impressively, especially for a human. 

"Already on my to-do list, luv," Harry muttered. Hermione grimaced slightly at the endearment, then scolded herself internally. They were obviously, strange as it might be, good for each other. They even looked good together...light and dark...they contrasted each other nicely.

"Quite," Snape murmured, coming back into the room with a tray. Pushing Malfoy down on the sofa beside Tibby, he shoved a plate with a fresh sandwich into his hands, then handed him a small vial filled with reddish liquid. "Eat. Drink. You need to keep up your blood supply if you're going to keep your new pet," he ordered. Harry opened his mouth to protest, and the older wizard winked teasingly.

Hermione plopped down in the nearest chair before her legs could give out from the shock. "This is the weirdest day ever..."

Harry was still staring at Snape, his jaw hanging open slightly, but Malfoy just chuckled and said, "You'll get used to him eventually."

"Right," Hermione mumbled, shaking her head dazedly. "Right after I get used to drinking blood, and you and Harry being...civil."

Snape laughed at this, but apparently Hermione was already getting used to him. She didn't have the urge to hide or run away this time. "So...what are we going to do?"

"I've sent owls to the Burrow, Shell Cottage, Muriel Weasley and Andromeda Tonks. Hopefully we'll get a response soon," Snape said, pouring a cup of tea. "I also asked Horace Slughorn to have his friend Worple check with his vampire contacts to see if any of them have heard from Cedric."

"No offense, Sir," Hermione began hesitantly, "but why would any of those people reply to you?"

"Because I signed the letters 'Harry Potter'," he grinned before sipping his tea. 

"Did you bump your head or something?" Harry blurted suddenly. "Whether you're on our side or not, the war's not exactly going well for you, and you're acting positively giddy. It's more than a little creepy."

"You-Know-Who thinks he killed me yesterday. He nearly succeeded, but an intelligent man doesn't spend time with a homicidal lunatic in possession of a highly poisonous snake without keeping a bezoar or two handy." Snape shuddered slightly. "I am 'giddy,' as you say, because I am finally free of the bloody bastard. At least until he realizes he failed, which I intend to delay for as long as possible." He took another sip of his tea, humming quietly to himself. 

Harry and Hermione exchanged disturbed looks, but Malfoy just shrugged carelessly and took a bite of his sandwich. 

He was nearly finished eating when Tibby, whom Hermione had nearly forgotten was there, woke up with a shriek, making Snape splash tea all over himself. "Master! Oh Master!"

"I told you not to call me that, Tibs," Malfoy scolded gently, immediately setting aside his plate and taking her hand. "Are you alright? What happened after you helped me get away?"

"I hid, Mas...er...Draco...just like you told me to," Tibby declared shakily. "But then all them nasty Death Eaters started shouting and laughing downstairs, so I went to look..." she swallowed nervously. 

"And?" Malfoy said encouragingly.

"Oh, Mast...er...Draco, it's awful! They got your cousins! And a bunch of other people. Chained up in the cellar with a bunch of nasty Weasleys."

Hermione gasped, and the room spun for a moment. Harry put his arm around her. "Cousins? Plural?" He asked when Draco seemed too stunned to speak. 

"Mistress Andromeda, Mistress Nymphadora, Master Teddy..." Tibby said, ticking the names off on her fingers. 

"No!" Harry growled at the sound of his godson's name.

"Mistress Cassiopeia," the elf went on, ignoring Harry's outburst, "...and Master Cedric."

Hermione literally saw red. The bastard had Cedric. She glanced at Harry, and their eyes met. He nodded slightly, and his lips widened in an icy smile. 

"Uh...why are you smiling, Harry?" Malfoy's voice cracked slightly, even though it had changed years ago.

Harry didn't answer, and Hermione just smirked. 

Voldemort had just signed his own death sentence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think Hermione is homophobic or anything. It's just that it's DRACO. lol Can't really blame her...


	8. Chapter 8

It was all Snape could do to keep Harry, Hermione and Draco from charging off to storm the castle, or in this case Manor, right then and there. Harry, in particular, was livid that Voldemort had the audacity to threaten Teddy, let alone actually lay a hand on him. 

Normally, Hermione would have agreed with Snape. Or at least with the general idea that discretion was the better part of valor. But in this case, Voldemort had her mate, and her vampire side was absolutely beside itself. She couldn't keep her fangs retracted, and both Snape and Draco were giving her a wide berth as she paced frantically back and forth, all but wearing a path through the already worn carpet.

"It will take more than four of us to infiltrate a veritable fortress full of Death Eaters, never mind taking on the Dark Lord himself," Snape said impatiently. 

Malfoy opened his mouth, but the older wizard cut him off. "I know you're now the legal owner of the Manor. Having the ability to get inside will help us immensely, but You-Know-Who will have strong wards in place, and guards everywhere. We won't be able to take them out alone. We might kill You-Know-Who, but it would be a suicide mission, and we'd likely fail to save your friends and relatives."

Malfoy grunted irritably. "There should be a spell to evict him from my damn house."

"There is. It's called 'Avada Kedavra,'" Harry said, "Snape's right though, we need to do more than just get you close enough to cast it."

"You have to be the one to kill him," Hermione sighed. 

"I'm NOT biting him," Harry muttered, shuddering. "I'd never get the taste out of my mouth."

Hermione really couldn't blame him there. "You could break his neck. That might be more effective, actually. He'll be expecting you to use magic."

"She has a point," Malfoy said. "He knows that Granger's dead because I heard him mention it, but I'm not sure if he knows she's a vampire. And, unless Cedric blabbed, which I know he wouldn't, he doesn't know you died at all."

"What if he used veritaserum or legilimency?" Harry asked. They all turned toward Snape. 

"Neither work on vampires, and 'Cruciatus' is considerably less painful for the undead," Snape said, smirking. "I trust that Cedric will not have revealed anything."

Hermione nodded slightly. "We just need to get Harry close; then he can attack him with his vamp speed when he's not expecting it. No stopping to chat with him like you usually do, Harry," she said, shooting him a pointed look.

"Not a problem," Harry grumbled. "I'm done with the bastard. Touching my godson will be his last mistake." The dark scowl on his face sent a shiver down Hermione's spine, but she noticed Malfoy looking at him with an adoring expression that was almost endearing. She was beginning to think maybe the blond wizard wasn't so bad after all.

"Draco, where will he be holding the prisoners?" She asked, forcing herself to use his given name again as an olive branch. "I don't think the cell where your father kept Harry and Ron in back in March would hold a vampire, let alone multiple vamps."

"There are more cells than the one Father kept them in," he replied, then turned to her, smiling sheepishly. "I want to apologize for that whole thing, by the way. I tried my best to help you get away, but if I'd stopped Aunt Bellatrix from torturing you, my cover would've been completely blown."

"I understand," Hermione smiled back. "Besides, the scar is gone now, so no harm done..." she pulled down the collar of her shirt to show him. She'd realized earlier that all of her scars were gone. Something about the vampire transformation apparently set one back to their natural state...even corrected some genetic shortcomings, if Harry's improved vision and their hair were any indication. 

Draco stared at her for a moment, then turned to Harry, "Turn me."

"What?!" Harry blurted. "No! Don't be stupid. You need your magic. And I don't give a damn about your scars."

"I do," Draco said fiercely. "It's not vanity. They remind me of him, and I can't stand them." He sighed heavily. "I know I'll need my magic to help you take him down, but afterwards, Harry, please?"

"No," Hermione spoke up. Draco glared at her, but she held up her hand, motioning for him to be quiet before he could explode. "I'll do it. It shouldn't be Harry. I know what it feels like when you turn someone, and if we add that to how he already feels about you, especially if you turn out to be his mate...trust me, it would be too much for anyone to bear."

Harry started shaking his head as soon as she said that she would do it, but by the time she finished speaking, he just stood there, his shoulders drooping dejectedly. "I don't get a say in this, do I?"

"No," Draco shook his head firmly. "Thank you," he added, bowing his head to Hermione. 

"I know my opinion doesn't count for much," Snape spoke up suddenly. He had a slightly baffled look on his face. "But are you both mad? Why on earth would you want to become a vampire if you don't have to?"

"My parents are dead," Draco muttered. "The love of my life is a vampire. Why would I want to live to get old and gray and die when I could stay young with him for a few centuries instead?"

Harry blinked, then crossed the room in a flash. Hermione looked away just as he ducked his head, but there was nothing she could do to block out the smacking sounds or Draco's soft whimper. She caught Snape's eye, and the bastard had the gall to laugh at her before drawling, "As touching as all this is, we do need to come up with a more effective plan than trying to make You-Know-Who gouge his own eyes out. Besides, knowing him, he might just try to join in..."

"Ewww!" Harry exclaimed, releasing Draco immediately.

"That was low. Even for you," he snapped at his godfather, who seemed unrepentant. 

"As entertaining as it is to watch Miss Granger squirm, we do need to act quickly," Snape pointed out smugly. 

"But what are we going to do?" Hermione asked frustratedly. "We can't attack with only four people!"

"We're going to find the rest of the Order," Snape said. "I suspect my letters failed to get through, so we'll have to try to contact them in person. Fortunately I charmed them to look like today's Prophet if read by anyone with the dark Mark. I have enough Floo powder here that we should be able to split up and check the most likely locations where they might be hiding. Harry, you should go to Muriel Weasley's; Hermione, Shell Cottage. Draco and I will go to Horace Slughorn's flat. As I said earlier, even if he doesn't know where the Order is, he can at least put us in touch with Eldred Worple, who might know some vampires willing to help us rescue Cedric. He's spent a good deal of time with a colony who are likely to be a bit more pro-wizard than most of their kind."

The three teenagers looked at each other, then shrugged, not having a better suggestion. 

"Everyone meet back at Grimmauld Place," Snape instructed. "My home is inadequate to hold the number of people I hope we can gather."

"Doesn't You-Know-Who know where it is?" Hermione asked curiously. "We had an incident with Yaxley..."

"Considering the severity of Yaxley's punishment for failing to learn your location that day, I think the Fidelius Charm is still intact." Snape smiled, his eyes almost twinkling. Hermione couldn't help thinking that Dumbledore would have been proud. 

As they each took up a handful of Floo powder, she surreptitiously took a bit extra, intending to check the Burrow as well, if necessary. 

"Harry, if you need to hide, picture yourself as fog and sit on the ceiling," she blurted as he stepped toward the fireplace. 

He looked at her like she was nuts, but nodded slightly before calling out, "Muriel Weasley's cottage!" and disappearing into the flames.

"Fog? That's his best defense?" Draco muttered sarcastically. 

"Still want to be a vampire?" Snape drawled. 

Shaking her head, Hermione threw some of her Floo powder into the fire, shouted, "Shell Cottage!" and stepped through into the small, windblown cottage.

The first person she saw was Charlie Weasley. He was walking through the cottage's small sitting room with his arms full of bedding. As soon as Hermione stepped out of the fireplace, his eyes widened and he dropped the blankets in favor of going for his wand. "Hermione?" he asked suspiciously. 

Hermione immediately raised both hands. "It's me, Charlie. I swear. Who else is here?" She tried to peek around him into the kitchen, where she could hear voices, but he moved to block her view.

"You're dead," he hissed. "I saw you die. What's going on?"

"Listen...I'm not here to hurt you. Harry and I need your help," she said as soothingly as she could. "Please...I'd rather only explain this once. Who else is here?"

"Harry?" He asked, lowering his wand a tiny bit as he peered at the fireplace. "He's with you?"

"He went to your Aunt Muriel's because no one answered the letters we sent. We need to find the rest of the Order. You-Know-Who has done something terrible."

"Um...no kidding," Charlie snorted bitterly. "He's killed Ron and Ginny! Mum is a wreck, and Dad and Bill disappeared a few hours ago. We think they went after him on their own."

"Oh no! That must be who Tibby was talking about..." Hermione mumbled. 

"Who is Tibby?" Charlie asked confusedly, lowering his wand a bit more.

"Long story," Hermione smiled weakly. "Look, are the twins here? Percy? Fleur? Anyone who can fight?"

"Remus and the twins are here, and some of their friends." Charlie nodded slightly. "Fleur's here too, but I don't know if she is going to be able to pull it together to fight. She's been a mess since Bill left."

Hermione nodded understandingly. "Well, I need to talk to everyone that's in any condition to fight. We need to hurry. You-Know-Who has taken hostages."

Charlie grimaced. "Stay right here," he ordered, still looking at her a bit suspiciously. He backed toward the kitchen and stuck his head through the door, addressing someone Hermione couldn't see. "Oi...get the others, will ya? Everyone who can fight."

Hermione heard the scrape of a chair across the floor, followed by footsteps going up the stairs. Charlie turned his attention back to her, coming a bit closer. He looked her over thoroughly, spending several seconds gazing at her hair. "Who turned you? And how? I saw LeStrange kill you."

"I don't know," Hermione admitted, not bothering to deny it. Charlie had always struck her as one of the smartest of the Weasley family, next to Bill. As hard as Percy tried, his older brothers were just naturally more perceptive and intuitive. "Someone slipped me blood before the fighting started, but we don't know who or how."

Charlie frowned thoughtfully, but said nothing. They waited in rather uncomfortable silence until several sets of footsteps began to clatter down the stairs. They were soon joined by Remus, Fred, George, Lee Jordan, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell. The former looked more haggard than usual, but not especially upset. Hermione's heart sank when it occurred to her that he didn't know about his wife and son.

The entire group reacted with shock upon seeing her. "'Mione?" One of the twins took a step toward her, smiling incredulously, but both of his brothers reached out and held him back.

"She's a vampire," Charlie announced gruffly. "Don't get too close."

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes as she was suddenly facing eight wands, aimed at various parts of her anatomy. "I didn't come here to hurt you! I came here because we need to organize a rescue!" she exclaimed impatiently. "You-Know-Who has Tonks, Teddy and Andromeda, and now I think he might have Bill and Arthur." 

Everyone gasped, but Hermione pressed on. "There's a good chance Ron and Ginny are also vampires now, and if so, he has them too. He stole all of the bodies from the castle after you all left, and someone there was dosing people with vampire blood. It doesn't seem to have been anyone on our side, so we're afraid it was some sick plan of Voldemort's to raise a vampire army." 

There was a long silence, then several things happened at once. Remus stepped forward and grabbed her by the arms in a painful grip. He smelled absolutely terrible, like rotten meat, and Hermione jerked away from him reflexively. "He has Dora and Teddy?" he snarled, his eyes flashing gold, "How do you know?"

Hermione growled back as her fangs descended. "Don't touch me, wolf!" She shouted, vaguely aware that it was her vampire side talking. She remembered that a single bite from the man in front of her could kill her, and took a step back, bumping into the fireplace. 

"They're gonna eat each other..." one of the twins predicted quietly. 

"Easy, Remus..." Charlie murmured soothingly. "You don't want to hurt Hermione. We need more information. Back off, mate."

Remus growled loudly, the sound coming from deep in his chest. "If you're lying...if you're involved, and he touches one hair on my mate's head..."

Hermione hissed at him before she could stop herself, but then managed to get her inner vamp under control, if only tentatively. "I'm not lying! He took my mate too!" She spat angrily. 

"Mate?" one of the twins asked. The three girls began whispering among themselves. 

"Harry?" Lee asked curiously. 

"No," Hermione repressed a gag at the thought of being mated to Harry. "Cedric Diggory," she said, biting back a smile as she waited for that particular bit of information to sink in. "He's alive. Sort of."

It didn't take long. "Cedric's a vampire?" One of the twins asked as he turned to exchange a look with his brother. Hermione finally caught a glimpse of his intact left ear and knew which was which.

"Yes, Fred," she confirmed quietly. "Someone did the same thing to him that was done to me yesterday. He thinks the blood was put in the refreshments that were in the Champions tent before each trial of the tournament."

Remus finally seemed to have gotten control of his wolf, and asked, "If You-Know-Who was slipping blood to people yesterday and stealing their bodies, how did you escape?"

"Cedric was hiding in the dungeons. He heard the fighting stop for a bit and snuck upstairs because he needed to feed. He could tell I was in the process of changing, so he kept me safe until I was done. We managed to Floo to Grimmauld after the battle ended," Hermione explained. She was beginning to think she should just make flash cards explaining the situation...it was already getting old and she had a feeling she wasn't done repeating the story. 

Remus and Charlie exchanged looks. "We lost track of Harry when everyone apparated away. The Burrow has been compromised for months, so a bunch of people went to Muriel's, since she has a fairly large mansion, and others went to Kingsley's. Dora went to her mother's to be with Teddy. We thought Harry was going to Muriel's with Percy, but I guess he got confused," Remus said a bit reluctantly. "How do you know so much about You-Know-Who's activities since the battle?"

Hermione swallowed nervously, knowing that whatever tentative trust she'd gained from them was about to be tested. "Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy have both been spying for the Order since You-Know-Who killed Cedric. That's when Malfoy started anyway. Snape had been working with Dumbledore for a lot longer."

"What? Why on earth should we believe that?" George snorted. 

Fred and the others all muttered under their breath, but Charlie and Remus just exchanged glances. "Dumbledore always said Snape was under cover," Charlie shrugged at the werewolf uncertainly. 

"And Cedric is related to the Malfoys somehow," Remus murmured, tapping his nose. "I could smell it on them. If they were close, that would probably motivate the boy to change sides. Albus hinted to me a few times that Snape wasn't his only spy."

"Malfoy made those 'Potter Stinks' buttons in support of Cedric during the Tournament," Lee chimed in suddenly. "I thought it was just to spite Harry, but maybe he was really rooting for Ced?"

Hermione nodded. "His mum is...was Lucius cousin. You-Know-Who killed Lucius and Narcissa this morning, and now he has all of their living relatives hostage. Draco barely escaped when his parents were killed. His house elf managed to come tell him what was going on when she realized You-Know-Who had taken prisoners."

"And you trust him?" Fred asked dubiously. "It's Malfoy."

"She'd know if he was lying," Remus said shortly. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I guess the only thing to do is summon the rest of the Order and plan a rescue."

Hermione smiled weakly. "Harry went to Muriel's just now because no one answered our owls. Snape and Malfoy went looking for Professor Slughorn because Snape thought he might have a way to put us in touch with some vampires who might be willing to help."

"There's a Death Eater outside the wards killing every owl that approaches." Charlie muttered, running his fingers through his hair. Hermione noticed for the first time that he looked exhausted. 

"Do you really think Ron and Ginny might be vampires too?" George asked hopefully. 

"I don't know for sure how the blood was slipped to me, but the last thing I remember drinking was juice that I got from the Great Hall right before we went back to the Room of Requirement. That's the only thing I drank all day that hadn't been in my possession since before we left here to go to Gringotts. So unless Bill and Fleur have a vampire hidden in their basement, someone put the blood in the juice at Hogwarts, or maybe the water supply. Potentially anyone that died in the battle could have turned. Cedric didn't smell any other vampires in the room where he found me, though."

"We had more bodies in the Great Hall. Plus, it takes quite a bit to change someone if the blood is diluted," Remus said. "It probably wasn't in the water supply because they'd have to drain a dozen vamps to add enough to the well itself. And it would be hard to disguise the color and flavor in water. Not many students died yesterday, though, thank Merlin."

"I was dying of thirst after breaking into Gringotts, and running around all day," Hermione sighed. "I drank a bunch of juice, and then refilled my canteen with it. Ron and Harry did the same."

"So, Ron, at least, is probably a vampire now," Charlie murmured hopefully. "Better than losing him, I guess."

Hermione frowned, knowing it was time to share the rest of her news. "Harry is a vampire now, too," she mumbled, bracing herself for the inevitable outburst.


	9. Chapter 9

It took quite a while for the commotion to settle down after her announcement. Most of the younger wizards and witches all thought they were doomed, since Harry had died and the prophecy clearly stated that if either he or Voldemort died, the other would live. Remus and Charlie, however, interpreted this much more optimistically. 

"Harry's going to live at least a couple of centuries now. You-Know-Who can't last that long," Charlie pointed out. 

"How did it happen?" Remus asked suspiciously, pinning Hermione with a questioning frown. "He wasn't even injured when I saw him disapparate after the battle."

Everyone quieted down and focused on Hermione again. "There was an accident," she began reluctantly. "Cedric shoved him, and he hit the wall..."

The twins and Lee glanced at each other, then all three started yelling about how Cedric was a traitor, and saying they ought to leave him with You-Know-Who. 

"Over my dead body!" Hermione roared, her fangs clicking as they dropped into place. Everyone but Remus stepped back in fear. "In case you didn't hear me before, Cedric is my MATE. I will not abandon him, no matter what he's done! Harry was trying to take me away from him when it happened. We warned him several times to stop, but he just wouldn't listen! All Ced did was push him away from me a little too hard, and it was only because he wouldn't let go of my arm! He was so upset after he realized what he'd done that he had to get out of the house. That's how You-Know-Who captured him." She took a deep breath because her voice was now barely a whisper, and she wanted to be sure they heard her next words. "When Harry woke up, he apologized for trying to separate us. He understood that it was a mistake."

Everyone exchanged furtive glances, then looked at Remus, the obvious leader of the group. 

"I see." He nodded, sighing tiredly. "Foolish boy. Maybe if Hogwarts ever had a decent Dark Arts instructor, mishaps like this wouldn't happen. Cedric really wouldn't be able to help himself in a situation like that. Protecting one's mate is imperative for vampires."

"Wait...you know about vampire mates? Neither Cedric or I knew anything about them until..." she trailed off, unwilling to share the details. "He'd only heard of them once, after he was turned, but he thought they were a myth."

"Well, like I said, the Dark Arts instruction at Hogwarts has been woefully inadequate for the past several years," he said, smiling sympathetically at her. Clapping his hands, he said, "We should get to Grimmauld. I assume the others will meet us back there?" He asked Hermione. 

"Yes, assuming they didn't get staked or stunned on sight," she said, wishing she was only joking. "No one went to Kingsley's, though. We didn't think of it."

"I'll go there with you, Hermione," Remus said. "Charlie, you swing by your aunt's and make sure they haven't staked Harry. The rest of you gather your things, and go straight to Grimmauld Place," Remus instructed. 

Everyone sprang into action, running to get their things, and inform Fleur and Molly of what was happening. She heard pops from all over the house as those who were old enough to Apparate disapparated one by one. 

Hermione was slightly awed by what a good leader Remus was. Everyone clearly looked up to him. She knew he was correct about the poor education they'd received in the Defense Against the Dark Arts, but knew if he'd been allowed to stay and teach, the battle the day before probably would have ended much differently. 

"Thank you, Professor," she murmured as she approached the fireplace, where he was gazing thoughtfully into the flames. She suspected he'd lingered to speak with her before they left. When she spoke, he looked up and tilted his head questioningly. She had to suppress a giggle at how dog-like the movement was. "For explaining to them...about Cedric and what happened with Harry. Cedric really didn't mean to do it."

"I know. Werewolves have mates too, you know. The only difference is that ours don't have to be other werewolves. I would do the same thing to anyone who tried to take Dora from me. I *will*..." His eyes flashed gold and his jaw tightened as another growl rumbled through his chest.

Hermione smiled faintly. Voldemort really was going to have a very bad day.

When they arrived back at Grimmauld, the whole place was buzzing with activity. Even Molly and Fleur were there, busy in the kitchen making tea and sandwiches. Hermione realized they both needed some sort of activity to keep them from succumbing to their worry and grief.

She found Draco and Harry hiding in the room where she had fed from Cedric earlier that morning. "Where is Snape?" she asked anxiously. Not that she was worried about the crazy bastard. Not much anyway. 

"He sent me back here and went with Slughorn to find his friend in the vampire colony. Slughorn was understandably reluctant to go there alone, in light of recent events." Draco replied. He looked decidedly worried, and Harry pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around him.

"It looks like most of the Order is here..." Hermione observed, trying to sound optimistic. 

"They are," Harry smiled faintly. "Minus those You-Know-Who kidnapped, and the ones who...who died. Most of the Hogwarts professors are here, too, and even some of the parents who didn't get word in time to fight yesterday. I didn't know this place could hold so many people."

"Wizard space," Draco mumbled. "It's similar to how wizard tents are bigger on the inside, except in older wizard houses like this, the expansion only activates when the normal space is taken up."

"Nifty," Harry muttered dryly, glancing at the door. "How long do you think it will keep them from barging in here?"

"They know there's two vampires and a Malfoy in here. I think they'll avoid this room as long as possible." Hermione shrugged. "Especially if they're afraid we might be hungry," she added with a grin.

Harry laughed softly, but Draco mumbled, "Clearly they don't know what they're missing."

"What did you do to him, Harry?" Hermione asked half seriously. Sure, she was a vampire, but she didn't see what the appeal of being bitten was, unless the biting was done by Cedric. But he was her mate, and she just couldn't understand why Draco, as a human, would be affected this way. Then, she remembered what Snape had told her about how Cedric had obtained most of his blood when he wasn't hiding with Snape. Obviously some people were just weird, and Draco was one of them.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Harry snickered, then abruptly grew serious when she quickly shook her head. "Do you know you look like you're going to be sick when all we do is snog in front of you? Does it bother you that much that we're gay?"

"No. It's not that you're gay. It's just that it's so bizarre because he's...Malfoy," Hermione explained, trying hard not to shudder or make a face. "Old habits and all that...I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually." She was sure of no such thing, but she didn't want to alienate her best friend. If he was happy, she was going to try her hardest to be happy for him, sleazy git of a boyfriend regardless. 

Just then there was a very brisk knock on the door, which immediately opened to admit Remus, Charlie, Hagrid, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout, Kingsley, the Weasley twins, Lee, Angela, Katie, Alicia, Neville, Luna, the Patil twins, several other members of Dumbledore's Army and quite a few past Hogwarts graduates, including Oliver Wood and Cho Chang. Hermione watched in wonder as more and more people poured into the room, and the walls just seemed to keep moving back to accommodate them.

"Bloody hell, Harry, you should rent this place out for Ministry functions once the war's over..." Fred whispered loudly, triggering a wave of nervous laughter. 

"So, what's the plan?" Harry asked Remus when the influx of people finally trickled to a stop. There had to be at least a hundred people crammed into the room, though nowhere near as tightly as they should be.

"With Malfoy on our side, we can apparate directly into Malfoy Manor. Even if You-Know-Who put up his own wards, the Manor won't allow him to keep out its rightful owner or anyone he gives permission to enter," Remus answered. "You-Know-Who probably won't be expecting him to return so soon. With your speed, Harry, you and Hermione can take him out before he realizes what's really going on. The rest of us can handle his followers."

"How many followers does he have there?" Hermione asked dubiously. 

"According to Tibby, about a hundred," Draco spoke up, looking uncomfortable. It was no wonder, since Harry hadn't released him, and at least half of those present were glaring at him. "The giants and trolls didn't accompany him there, or the acromantula. There are about a dozen werewolves still in his service. The only vampires she saw there were all prisoners."

"Harry and I can't move THAT fast. Not with that many werewolves around. They can smell us, and we can't fight them alone," Hermione said worriedly. 

"You won't have to," a dark haired, pale skinned man announced, entering the room beside Professor Slughorn, who had a rather proud smirk on his face. "The rest of our family and I will assist you."

Hermione felt a weird jolt go through her. "You. It was YOU." She just knew that it was his blood that had been used to turn her. "Who are you? Why did you do this to us?"

"My name is Connor," The vampire bowed his head slightly, looking contrite. "The Dark Lord tricked me...he took my mate years ago, and hid her from me. He forced the rest of our family to help him, to fight for him, to let him use our blood to create others, or else he said he would kill her. He's made me sneak inside Hogwarts through the tunnels on several occasions, including yesterday...whenever he expected there might be deaths. He hoped to make an army of former wizard vampires, and force me to use the Sire bond to control them. Fortunately, the bond doesn't really work the way he thinks, and there also haven't been as many deaths as he had hoped for. Unfortunately, my mate died during the battle yesterday," he growled loudly and several people nearby inched away nervously. "He WILL pay for this."

Hermione felt a surge of sympathy for him, thinking about how devastated she'd be if Cedric died. And they'd only been together for a day and a half. She couldn't imagine how horrible it would feel to lose him after years together. "So you're my..." she trailed off, unsure of what word to use. It was the same confusion she had about Harry. She really wished she'd taken more interest in vampires over the years.

"I am your Sire," he nodded, smiling. Shifting his gaze to Harry, he frowned confusedly. "But not yours. Your Grandsire, perhaps?" He glanced back at Hermione, the question clear in his eyes.

"I turned him," she murmured, nodding guiltily. "I had to. He was severely injured." She left out the details, but Harry nodded in confirmation, and several people around the room gasped. Obviously the gossip network within the Order and other fighters for the Light wasn't quite up to speed. She'd thought Lee and the twins would have announced it to most of Britain by now, but apparently they could keep a secret after all.

"I see," Connor nodded understandingly. "We will talk more about this later. For now, we will help you. We will help you kill him, and free the rest of my Children."

Hermione nodded slightly. "Where is the rest of your...er...our family?"

"Doing a bit of scouting with Severus," Slughorn said, winking. "They've still got permission to enter the Manor, so they're already in place, pretending nothing has changed. You-Know-Who has clearly gotten a bit too confident in the loyalty of his followers."

"He doesn't understand that their love for their families is going to outweigh their fear of him, now that he's crossed the line from simply making threats to actually harming their loved ones." McGonagall mused. "He doesn't understand love at all."

"Well, it's about time that lack of understanding came back to bite him," Harry growled, then grinned the particularly cold grin that tended to give Hermione chills since he'd turned. "Perhaps even literally," he added coldly, letting his fangs drop. Several people let out distressed noises, and one girl near the front of the room actually fainted.

Hermione fought to keep from rolling her eyes. Humans really were a bit too squeamish. Except for Draco, who now looked like he might jump Harry at any second, witnesses or not. "Alright!" she shouted, mainly just to put a stop to any potential public sex acts between the Slytherin and her best friend. "Let's just plan this damn thing! I have a mate I'd like to get back before bedtime!"

"Too much information, 'Mione!" One of the twins protested, covering his ears. The other twin nodded vigorously, and she heard nervous titters from a few other people around the room.

She shook her head and gave in to the urge to roll her eyes. Humans were definitely far too prim and proper.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ol' Moldyshorts has a really bad evening...

In the end, it was shockingly easy. As soon as the sun had set, Draco sent Tibby back to find out exactly where in the Manor Voldemort was currently located. The elf returned twenty minutes later to report that "the mean wizard" was in the library with five members of his inner circle. The werewolves were all patrolling the grounds, since the Dark Lord expected no real trouble and considered them no more than dogs. Miraculously, Neville had managed to kill Nagini in all the confusion before everyone had fled Hogwarts, so the last of the horcruxes was out of the picture. 

After Draco loudly announced that everyone was invited over to his house, Connor, Harry and Hermione were paired up with Remus, Charlie and McGonagall, who would apparate them directly to the library. Draco, Snape and Kingsley were to accompany them as well. 

Oliver, Lee, the twins, Neville and Luna were going to lead an attack on the grounds by the younger members of the group, while Flitwick, Sprout, Hagrid, Slughorn and most of the parents would apparate inside the Manor, where the majority of the Death Eaters should be. Connor assured them all that when the fighting broke out, the members of his family who were already at the Manor would turn on Voldemort's followers. A few were blatantly skeptical about this, but decided that in the end, it wouldn't make much difference.

On Remus' signal, everyone who was capable cast disillusionment spells on themselves, and on those who couldn't. Then, those who couldn't apparate grabbed onto someone who could, and on another signal from Remus, the entire group disapparated almost simultaneously. 

Hermione clung to McGonagall's arm, turning herself to fog as soon as she felt her feet touch solid ground. She jumped to the ceiling just as Voldemort and his minions glanced curiously around the room. The wizards had managed to completely muffle the sound of their apparation, but apparently Voldemort and the others had sensed something. 

The Order members transporting the three vampires had landed perfectly, ending up behind a row of free standing bookcases, so that the three vampires had a chance to disguise themselves as fog before they were spotted. As she crawled across the ceiling to get behind Voldemort, Hermione could barely see the shimmer of the three human Order members who were already in position behind Dolohov, Rookwood and Yaxley. 

Hermione waited beside Harry and Connor until Remus and Charlie were in place behind the elder Crabbe and Goyle, respectively. McGonagall was blocking the door, and had successfully cast a very effective muffling charm on the room; from her vantage point, Hermione could now see multiple curses flying past the windows from the battle out on the grounds, but could hear nothing.

There was a soft tap beside her, and she tensed, focusing on Voldemort. "What was that?" he hissed, cocking his head. The Death Eaters all shook their heads before a second tap sounded. "Well, do you suppose maybe you should look?" Voldemort suggested sarcastically. 

Before any of them could respond, there was a third tap. On this pre-arranged signal, Hermione dropped to the floor and grabbed Voldemort's right arm, putting all of her strength into helping Connor prevent him from drawing his wand, which she snapped with one hand, tossing the pieces aside. She heard the five Order wizards and McGonagall all scream spells, and the five Death Eaters collapsed in almost perfect unison just as Voldemort was bound with ropes.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Voldemort screamed, which Hermione found somewhat comically. 

"It's not obvious?" She chuckled. 

Harry reversed his glamour, appearing right in front of the dark wizard. "I'm not supposed to talk to you this time, but for the record, fucking with my godson, and turning by best friends into vampires? Big mistake. Fatal, even."

Voldemort opened his mouth, but before he could say a word, Harry stepped forward and easily snapped his neck. "Say 'hi' to your snake in hell," he muttered smugly. 

Hermione let go of Voldemort's arm in disgust. Connor did the same and the corpse fell face first on the expensive oriental rug at their feet. 

Everyone stared for a second, then began cheering loudly. Snape even did a quick little jig. Hermione and Draco both flung themselves at Harry, hugging him excitedly while the older adults made sure the Death Eaters were tightly bound. They calmly ignored Connor taking a drink from Dolohov. Hermione didn't even flinch when she realized she and Draco each had an arm around each other as well as Harry. 

"You're going to have to burn that rug, Malfoy," Charlie murmured quietly, setting off a round of laughter.

After a few minutes of celebration, McGonagall cleared her throat. "Perhaps we should go see how the others are faring?"

"Cedric!" Hermione gasped, horrified that she'd forgotten about him for even a moment in her excitement. 

"Come on," Draco ordered, grabbing her and Harry each by the hand and dragging them into the hallway. Not too surprisingly, the halls were filled mostly with unconscious, bound (and a few deceased), Death Eaters. They were greeted by several triumphant looking Order members and vampires. Most of the latter were standing over the drained bodies of dead Death Eaters, but Hermione found she was completely unbothered by this. All she cared about was finding Cedric, and maybe biting a few Death Eaters herself. She was starving to the point that even Draco was starting to look appetizing.

Draco led them quickly around the dwindling pockets of fighting to a thick wooden door near the back of the mansion. A narrow stone staircase led deep underground, and she gasped as she picked up Cedric's scent. "He's here!" she exclaimed eagerly, rushing forward. 

"Duh," Draco muttered, but there was no hostility behind it. 

Hermione reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to the right, where the scent was strongest, racing past three barred doors before reaching a solid metal one without even a small window. Her vampire strength had finally kicked in, and she easily ripped the barrier off its hinges. She flung herself at the startled vampire chained to the wall of the tiny cell beyond it.

"'Mione?" Cedric asked confusedly, lifting his head. "I thought I'd never see you again. How did you find me? How did you get here?" he asked, leaning forward against his chains to kiss her fiercely. 

Hermione smiled against his lips, reaching up and snapping the locks off the shackles around his wrists. "Never underestimate a couple of pissed off Gryffindors, luv. Voldemort is dead. He made the mistake of messing with Harry's godson," she explained between kisses as Cedric wrapped his arms around her neck and slid to the floor, pulling her into his lap.

"Harry's okay? You don't hate me?" Cedric murmured anxiously. He pulled away from placing kisses along her jawline to look into her eyes.

"Some people might not use the word okay, but he's fine with being a vampire. He understands why you did it. We both do. You didn't have to run away, Ced," she murmured, emphasizing her point by kissing him firmly on the lips.

"I panicked," he whispered when they separated sheepishly a few minutes later. "I told you I'd never killed anyone before. Or turned anyone."

"Turning someone isn't so bad," Hermione smiled. "If you want, you can turn your crazy cousin. He's literally begging for it."

"Draco? Why? He never wanted to before," Cedric said, frowning confusedly. 

"You'll have to see it for yourself," Hermione laughed. "You'd never believe it if I told you."

"Okay," he said dubiously. "Did you bring anyone to eat? I'm starving..." he asked, eying her neck.

"I am too, but I'm sure we can find someone upstairs. Our relatives can't have eaten all of the Death Eaters..."

"Relatives?" Cedric asked. 

"Oh! Slughorn found our Sire!" Hermione exclaimed. "Moldyshorts was holding his mate hostage, using her as leverage to force him to help him. She was killed yesterday, so Connor...that's our Sire, turned on him. He helped us kill the bastard."

"What else did I miss?" Cedric asked curiously. 

"Snape making out with McGonagall," Hermione joked.

"Very funny," Cedric snorted. "It's a good thing I haven't eaten...I might throw up."

"Sorry," Hermione giggled. "Can you stand up or should I get someone to come feed you?"

"I can stand, I just wanted to hold you for a minute," he said, smirking mischievously and hugging her tightly. "Let's get out of here," he requested after a moment, looking around the cell disgustedly. 

Hermione jumped to her feet and offered him her hand. As he rose gracefully to his full height, she was struck again by how beautiful he really was. He'd probably object to that description, but it was the first word that popped in her head, just as it had when he'd jumped out of the tree four years earlier, and every time she'd seen him since then. "I missed you," she said, hugging him impulsively. 

"I was only gone for like half a day," he chuckled self-consciously, hugging her back.

"No," Hermione mumbled, shaking her head. "When you died. I know it's stupid because we barely know each other, but it felt like part of me died too that day."

"Maybe it did." He smiled sadly. "Maybe we were always meant to be together. Soulmates..."

"Maybe." Hermione shrugged dubiously. "I thought I was just a silly fifteen year old girl who had a crush on the cutest boy in school," she said, grinning teasingly. 

"Okay, so maybe it was that." Cedric snorted and rolled his eyes. "You're not very romantic are you?"

"Sorry," Hermione shrugged. "It's hard to be romantic when you're hungry. Especially when you're hungry for blood."

"Alright, Dracula, let's go find someone to bite. Where's Draco?" Cedric asked, following her back toward the stairwell.

"He's down here somewhere..." Hermione mumbled. "He's probably helping Harry release the other prisoners..." She frowned confusedly at the lack of activity in the dungeon's hallway. "They should be down here...he wanted to see you almost as much as I did..."

"There's someone crying down at the other end of the hall," Cedric whispered, pointing. 

Hermione strained to hear. "That's Harry!" she exclaimed, bursting into a run.

She skidded to a stop outside a door identical to the one where she'd found Cedric. Poking her head cautiously around the edge of the doorway, she gasped in horror. 

Harry was sobbing, sprawled across the familiar, but unusually pale form of his new boyfriend. Draco's head was twisted to his right, his eyes staring unseeingly at the wall.

Ron Weasley was standing over them, looking very confused, his eyes black, and his lips slightly bloody. Seeing Hermione in the doorway, he asked, "What did I do wrong? It's just Malfoy..."

Cedric roared behind Hermione, and she had to struggle to hold him back. "Harry loves him, you idiot! Why'd you go and drain him? He was coming to let you out!" Hermione exclaimed. 

"I didn't know that! How was I supposed to know that?!" Ron yelped. "He's the first person I've seen since I woke up! I was starving..." He gazed miserably at Harry, who was weeping bloody tears all over Draco, and trying desperately to force a bloody wound on his wrist into the blond's mouth. Hermione strained her ears, but couldn't detect a heartbeat. 

"He's dead, Harry," she murmured sadly, kneeling beside him. 

Cedric had stopped trying to get at Ron and dropped to the floor beside his cousin. "NO...he's turning. Smell him..."

Hermione leaned closer and sniffed. "He smells like...parchment," she mumbled, blinking. 

"Vampires don't really have much of a smell," Cedric explained. "That's how mates recognize each other...they'll smell strongly of something the other likes, but only to each other."

"Like Amortentia," Hermione gasped. Cedric nodded.

"He doesn't smell like parchment. He smells like oranges and broomstick polish," Harry spoke up suddenly. 

"He's not even done turning yet, Harry," Cedric said skeptically. "I couldn't smell Hermione until she was fully turned."

"Well, he will smell like those things," Harry muttered defensively, stroking Draco's hair.

Hermione watched him for a moment, then smiled. "I'm sure he will, Harry."

"Wait...what?" Ron asked confusedly. "What's Cedric doing here, and why are we all vampires?"

"Oh Ron, it's a long story," Hermione laughed.

"Before you tell it, can one of you come let me out?" Ginny's voice drifted through the wall, sounding extremely annoyed. "I'm hungry!"

Hermione jumped up and ran to obey. Many of the cells on this end of the dungeon were occupied, but in the end she found only two other newly turned vampires...Colin Creevey and Lavender Brown. She decided not to release the human prisoners until the hungry vampires had been fed by Connor and a few other members of his family. 

Once the fighting ended, nearly all of Voldemort's followers had been killed or apprehended. The celebration went late into the night. Draco woke up shortly before dawn, but he didn't smell like oranges or broomstick polish. It turned out that Harry subconsciously found fresh linens and leather more appealing, while Draco happily announced that Harry smelled like apple blossoms and chocolate...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the reason I didn't mention Harry being a horcrux is because Snape realized once Harry became a vampire that the horcrux would have been destroyed when he died, so he didn't bother mentioning it...and therefore, neither did I. 
> 
> I know amortentia makes people smell three things, but since the vampire mate phenomenon is NOT amortentia, I only gave them two things, and I deliberately tried to avoid having them smell like food, though I gave up with Draco because the only other thing I could think of was leather and that was already taken. lol


	11. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here's the end. I was going to say more, but I found out my uncle died this morning (very unexpectedly) after I'd started getting this ready to post. I forget what I was going to say about it now, and I really don't care. :-/

Hermione snuggled up against Cedric's shoulder, smiling softly as they swayed to the music drifting through the recently reconstructed Great Hall. The surviving participants of the last two battles of the second wizarding war were gathered for the one year anniversary of Voldemort's death, and her mate had dragged her onto the dance floor, insisting that she share at least one dance with him in spite of the flock of reporters watching their every move. 

"Just ignore them, luv," he murmured into her hair as the umpteenth camera flash half blinded her.

"He should know better," Hermione grumbled, glaring at Colin Creevey, the perpetrator of the latest temporary blinding. "He's one of us."

"He's a reporter. I'm pretty sure that makes him some kind of lesser being," Cedric chuckled. 

"Still...he should know better," Hermione muttered, sticking her tongue out at the tiny blond, who grinned cheekily at her around a mouthful of fangs. "Can he still not control those things?" She huffed irritably. 

"I think he's proud of them. They make him feel special," Cedric shrugged, skillfully twirling her away from him, then pulling her back against his chest. "Not everyone can be as handsome and talented as I am," he added teasingly. 

Hermione snorted, knowing he didn't mean the boastful words, even though they happened to be true, at least as far as she was concerned. "It figures he would get himself killed. Now we're stuck with him and his blasted camera for the next three or four centuries."

"His camera won't last that long," Cedric muttered as the flash went off again, directly behind her. "Harry's putting it out of our misery as we speak..."

Hermione spun around. Sure enough, Harry had joined Colin at the edge of the room. A loud crunch was audible, even over the music, when Harry smashed the infernal contraption on the stone floor. "I told you to take a break, Colin!" Harry shouted, waving his arms around menacingly. Colin shrank back, then quickly fled from the room. 

"Harry's temper is out of control, luv," Cedric whispered against Hermione's ear so the black-haired vampire wouldn't hear him.

"He's been through hell and back, and people still won't leave him alone," Hermione whispered back, though she made a mental note to speak with her friend about possible better ways to handle such situations. 

"Haven't we all?" Cedric muttered. "The rest of us don't go around smashing things."

Hermione decided not to mention the time he'd smashed *Harry*."You got *your* parents back. Or should I say they got you back?" Hermione trailed off for a moment, then shook herself out of her thoughts. "And you're not being haunted by the ghost of your mother-in-law," Hermione reminded him, watching Harry stalk back across the room to join his mate.

"They didn't have to move into the Manor," Cedric snorted. As soon as the two vampires had moved into Malfoy Manor, several months ago, Narcissa Malfoy's spirit had made a not-too-surprising appearance. She'd never left.

"If they hadn't, we'd be living with my parents. Or yours." Hermione reminded him bitterly. Even though Harry had eliminated the biggest threat to the wizarding world, vampires still couldn't find jobs for the same pay that a living witch or wizard would earn. Hermione had a low paying position as a file clerk in the Department for Regulation of Magical Creatures. Cedric was now working as a bouncer at a seedy pub not far from Tully's. 

Together, they still couldn't afford a decent flat. Kingsley was trying to help, but there was no legislation in place that would allow him to force employers...even the Ministry itself, to employ them. Hermione had been lucky to receive her filing job.

"I know, luv," Cedric sighed, smiling weakly. "Can we change the subject? I still hate accepting charity from your Child."

"It wasn't really charity. They were never going to live there. Can you see Draco living at Grimmauld?" Hermione chuckled, shoving her thoughts aside. "Besides, after the scare he gave us all after the last battle, I think Harry would live on the moon if Draco wanted to." She shivered as she remembered Draco's brush with death. It turned out that Harry *hadn't* gotten to him in time after Ron had drained him. They found out later on that Draco had asked Connor to give him blood before they left for the Manor, when Harry wasn't looking.

Apparently several people had requested blood from the vampires, but Draco had been the only one to need it in the end. Several Order members had been seriously injured that night, but only Draco had stupid enough to barge into a small cell with a ravenous, newly turned vampire. 

Luckily, the Ron and Draco could laugh about it now. Hermione watched the red head pat his former nemesis on the back as he walked past Draco and Harry, who were now wrapped tightly in each others arms. Ron noticed Hermione looking, and winked at her before joining his sister and Lavender at one of the tables lined up beneath the windows.

Hermione watched Harry and his mate swaying to the music for a minute, smiling affectionately at them. They looked so happy whenever they were together. She was still musing over how sweet they were when they began kissing a little too passionately for such a public setting. She felt like she was intruding on a private moment, and looked away guiltily, wrapping her arms around Cedric's waist,and resting her cheek against his chest. 

"Do you want to get out of here?" He whispered huskily. 

She could tell by the tone of his voice that he'd also seen the two men snogging. "When are you going to just admit that you agree that's hot?" She asked, smirking playfully at him as she subtly pressed her hips against him. 

He moaned as the movement made her abdomen brush against his growing erection. "I really don't," he chuckled, "But *you* do, and I can smell the effect it has on you. Now *that's* hot."

"That's...twisted," Hermione snickered, but didn't try to deny it.

"So," he murmured, sliding his hands from her shoulders to her waist, and grinding his pelvis against her. "Do you want to get out of here?"

Hermione growled and briefly channeled Harry. She grabbed both sides of Cedric's head in her hands, and kissed him deeply, despite the room full of people watching them. "Take me home!"

Cedric grabbed her hand and raced for the doors. She kept up with him easily as they swerved around the various small groups scattered in their path. Most of the living attendees didn't notice anything more than a passing breeze, but she heard Remus drawl, "They're at it again."

"Harry and Draco, or 'Mione and Cedric?" Fred asked just as they passed into the hallway.

"Both," Remus' laughing reply followed them up the main staircase. 

Sure enough, less than a second after they charged into McGonagall's office, Harry and Draco stumbled in after them. They were somehow still snogging as they walked. Both men blinked innocently when Hermione and Cedric burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" Draco asked defensively, stepping slightly in front of Harry.

Hermione glanced pointedly at his right hand, which was tucked beneath Harry's dress robes. "Oh...nothing," she giggled as Harry batted at his arm, looking contrite. "Would you like to go first?"

They didn't even respond. Harry grabbed a handful of Floo powder, tossed it carelessly in the general direction of the hearth, wrapped his arm around Draco's waist, and shouted, "Malfoy Manor!" They disappeared in a shower of sparks, and Hermione winced.

"He didn't get enough powder in the fire again," Cedric observed quietly. 

"Maybe if they have to wait a week for their hair to grow back, they'll finally learn a little patience," Hermione muttered, rolling her eyes.

Cedric raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You think so?"

"Nah!" They both laughed and shook their heads a few seconds later. 

Hermione scooped up a handful of Floo powder and made a point of very carefully depositing it inside the fireplace before calling, "Grimmauld Place!" Cedric offered her his arm, and they stepped into the flames side by side. 

As soon as they entered the sitting room of 12 Grimmauld Place (which Harry had painstakingly restored to its original glory before he rented the old house to them), Cedric scooped her up in his arms and raced toward the stairs. "Cedric!" Hermione exclaimed, giggling and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Mine," he whispered, nuzzling her neck while climbing to their bedroom on the third floor. They'd taken over Walburga Black's huge master suite after Bill Weasley had carefully removed the many curses she'd left behind. Just like the rest of the mansion, Harry had gutted the room, papered it in red, cream and black, and bought all new furniture. Hermione's favorite part was the enormous four poster bed, which Cedric now unceremoniously dropped her on before crawling on top of her.

"Yes, I'm yours...caveman," Hermione laughed, winking at him as she fumbled with his tie. "Do you tangle these things up on purpose?" she grumbled, finally giving up and just ripping it.

"Yes. I love it when you destroy my clothes," Cedric snorted. "It gives my mum a reason to drag me out shopping, and you know how much I love shopping." Pushing her hands away, he sat up, straddling her hips as he quickly removed his dark gray formal robes and white silk dress shirt. Hermione licked her lips when he finally stripped off the white t-shirt he wore underneath, revealing his chest and abs. 

"Mine," she murmured, running her hand along the narrow trail of hair leading down his stomach and into his trousers. His abdominal muscles twitched under her palm as he squirmed away from her. 

"That tickles, cave-woman," he chuckled, smiling warmly at her. 

Hermione sat up, and pushed him away from her. When he opened his mouth to complain, she pressed a finger to his lips, then reached behind her back to unzip her red satin gown, allowing the straps to slide down her arms and reveal the matching lace bra underneath. "Ah ah ah...behave," she shook her finger at him when he tried to reach for her. Standing up, she kicked off her high heels, and pushed the dress down over her hips. She let it drop to the floor before kneeling on the bed in her underthings and black thigh high stockings. "You have too many clothes on," she murmured, kissing Cedric before nibbling on his bottom lip.

He stood up, holding her gaze as he pulled open the button on his trousers and yanked down the zipper. He continued to maintain eye contact while he shoved his trousers and boxers to the floor. He grinned wickedly at her as he stepped out of them, kicking off his shoes and socks in the process. "Better?" He smirked, cocking one eyebrow challengingly when he finally stood naked before her

Hermione let her eyes trail down over his body, lingering at his groin for a moment before looking back up at his face. "Much better," she murmured. Not giving him any warning, she grabbed his shoulders and flipped him onto his back on the bed, using her enhanced speed and strength.

"What the hell, 'Mi?" He yelped. 

"I had to wipe that smug expression off your face," Hermione smiled sweetly. "You know I hate it when you channel your mum's side of the family."

"Well, I hope you're happy," he muttered. "I think you scared it!" He pouted exaggeratedly as he glanced pointedly at his crotch.

Hermione looked down and snorted. "Looks fine to me." If anything, he looked even more aroused than he had before she'd pulled her little maneuver.

"No. It's traumatized," he insisted, the corner of his mouth twitching. "I think you should apologize."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, then grinned. "How about I just kiss it better?" She caught his triumphant smile out of the corner of her eye as she knelt between his legs, bent down, and swallowed him to the root in one swift motion.

He threw his head back against the pillows and grunted almost like he was in pain. "Fuck!"

Hermione pulled back just long enough to swirl her tongue around the tip before sucking him back into her throat. A complete lack of gag reflexes was one of her favorite things about her undead state. Not needing to breath was another. She hummed silently as she lazily moved her head up and down, making sure to apply pressure with her tongue on the upstrokes. 

Cedric moaned and gasped for the first minute or so, but then he forgot to breath, and went quiet. He definitely wasn't still though. His hips bucked and rolled beneath her as he thrust into her mouth in time with her movements. 

Hermione smiled around him, then pulled back and probed the slit at the tip with her tongue. He inhaled sharply, then grabbed her hair in one hand, gently trying to pull her away. "Oh Gods, stop, 'Mi. I'm gonna-"

Hermione smirked wickedly, sucking him into her mouth again, then scraping her teeth lightly over the underside of his shaft, being careful not to use her fangs. 

Cedric arched off the bed and screamed incoherently as he came in her mouth. Hermione closed her lips around him and swallowed. Having her mate's cum taste exactly like his sweet, delicious blood was yet another of her favorite vampire related things.

When he finally stopped twitching, Cedric reached down and pulled her up beside him, then rolled on top of her and tore her lacy red knickers off, casually throwing them over his shoulder. "That was incredible, luv." He smiled dazedly at her before kissing her, pushing her legs apart and easing himself inside her.

Hermione's eyes rolled back in her head when he bottomed out inside of her, rubbing against all kinds of nice places in the process. "No recovery time," she muttered, adding to her previous list.

"Hmm?" Cedric asked, beginning to thrust in and out. He was moving excruciatingly slowly, and Hermione's toes curled. 

"Just...oh...making...a list...of reasons...it's good to...be me," she gasped between thrusts. "Merlin, you feel good!" She realized this was going to be one of the rarer times when he was slow and tender, keeping his inner vampire hidden fairly deep down. Smiling to herself, she wrapped her arms and legs around him, and held on tight.

"Is that on the list, too?" Cedric chuckled, kissing her nose affectionately. 

"Right...oh god, just like that..." Hermione whimpered as he twirled his hips before pulling out slightly. "Mmm...that's up at the top..."

Cedric laughed. "You're adorable, Granger. And a little insane," he told her, pausing to look her in the eye for a moment. 

"And you talk too much, Diggory," Hermione muttered, wriggling her hips.

"Bossy," he snickered, but started moving again, a bit more quickly than before. 

"You love it," Hermione teased, reaching down to squeeze his arse in both hands. "Mmm...add this...to my list."

"This...list...sounds kinda...pervy," Cedric mumbled. "Oh god, do that again!" He buried his face against her neck and moaned when she squeezed her inner muscles around him, so she did it again, repeatedly. 

They both got quiet for a long while after that, neither bothering to breath. Cedric caught and held her attention as they moved together. His gray eyes were filled with emotion, and she felt something catch in her chest as a surge of deep affection washed over her. 

"I love you so much," Cedric whispered, ducking his head to nuzzle her ear with his nose.

"I love you, too." Hermione smiled, kissing his neck. Her fangs descended when he reached down and brushed his thumb over her clit. "Mmmm." She hummed, bucking against him.

"I'm gonna cum again, babe," he whispered apologetically. 

Hermione smiled and pulled him closer, feeling her own climax building rapidly. "Me too," she murmured, licking his ear.

Cedric purred, then teasingly scraped a fang across her jaw line. Hermione's hips jerked involuntarily. 

"Oh god, yes. Do it," she ordered breathlessly, just before she turned her head and bit him. 

He groaned loudly and sank his fangs into her neck, and they both began to come simultaneously. Hermione clung to him tightly until the little after shocks of pleasure stopped traveling up and down her spine. When her body finally relaxed, she sighed contentedly and gently licked his neck, sealing her bite.

Cedric shifted after a few minutes, slipping out of her and rolling onto his back beside her. "So what's on this list of yours, exactly?" He asked, pulling her into his arms and kissing her softly.

Hermione thought about it for a moment. "Just you, really," she whispered when he pulled away. "It all comes down to you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited: Alright, so what I didn't say yesterday when I just came back to this and hit the post button after finding out about my uncle, is that there MIGHT someday be a sequel to this, which is why I purposely left a few things kind of "floating," like Harry's anger issues, and not going further into their relationship with Connor and the other vampires. I don't know for sure if I'll ever write a sequel, but I wanted to leave the possibility open.

**Author's Note:**

> Pretty much the only thing from Rowling's vampire lore that I am actually following is that vampires are not immortal. They're just really long-lived...somewhere between 250-500 years, probably 300 on average. Everything else she said about them, I just ignored, including their appearance. I sort of made up my own set of "rules" for vampires from a mish-mash of a bunch of different places (quite heavily influenced by Buffy the Vampire Slayer). The vampires are treated like lepers in this story, much like Werewolves, and there's a lot that wizards don't know about them.  
> A few warnings...there is a gay relationship between two major characters coming up later on in the story. There's nothing graphic between them because I'm just really bad at writing gay sex, but the relationship is there, so if that kind of thing bothers you...well...don't read this. 
> 
> Also, several core characters end up getting killed. I'm pretty sure they all ended up becoming vampires (I wrote this a while back...I've been without internet access on my computer for a while and I'm just trying to get the stuff I wrote during that time posted here now), but at least one death is a little disturbing, and will probably piss someone off. Sorry. (My muse is not sorry).
> 
> I have to say, I don't think there's nearly enough Cedric/Hermione fanfic out there. I know he died when she was only fifteen, but I think if he hadn't, they would have been adorable together! I'd probably write a lot more stories about them if I could come up with ways to get around the fact that I don't really like writing about underage sex (unless they both are). This story is one of my ways around that. (I'm currently working on another one, but it's not finished yet.


End file.
